Indigenous Peoples Presentation

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

Indigenous Peoples Presentation:

Nuclear Genocide of Life Givers must stop: We are NOT disposable, nor are we invisible. We are Indigenous Peoples of this World.

Speaker: Kathy Wan Povi Sanchez

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates and NG0 colleagues, I bring you many blessings from our ancestral guardians who recognize the awesome power that is unleashed when the uniting of the male with the female perspectives are used as enhanced sources of inner strength for futuristic visioning.

In the preamble of the NPT it is stated, “Considering the devastation that would be visited upon all mankind by a major nuclear war...” Indigenous peoples make clarification and state that such devastation has already occurred. Whenever one death, one spirit is destroyed, all of mankind looses the promise of continued existence. I restate and reaffirm past views that have been expressed in prior presentations on the Indigenous perspective given by Jacqui Katoni and Richard Salvador .

While the NPT attempts to address the threat posed by nuclear weapons in the world while making provision for the peaceful use of nuclear technology in Article IV, it fails to recognize the disproportionate, accumulative and exponential impact of nuclear activities on Indigenous peoples. Nuclear industries continue to perpetrate ongoing and systemic invasion of Indigenous lands and culture.

In Indigenous communities the existence of uranium mines, nuclear waste dumps/ storage and nuclear test sites are a daily threat to life and continued existence of culture. As Indigenous communities living with this everyday threat we continue to question the notion of “peaceful use” in the NPT. As NPT states continue to struggle on “safeguarding” practices, the loss of life and irreversible destruction and desecration of entire nations goes without notice .

I am Wan Povi, an Indigenous Tewah T’owah from Poh Wohge Oweenge, San Ildefonso Pueblo in northern New Mexico, USA. I speak from the Indigenous perspective of one who shares a common boundary with a national defense laboratory engaged in active nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical research and development of weapons of massively destructive capabilities. This common boundary was craved out of the forced imposition of the Los Alamos National Laboratory upon our legendary ancestral and sacred homelands.

I am speaking of the 60-year legacy of this laboratory, the developer of the first atomic arsenal including atomic bombs and the “misnamed” depleted uranium weaponry used in the preemptive strike by the armed forces of the United States of America and their cohorts. Let me ask, can so-called Protectors of Peace who promote battling, warring and bombing be not consumed by the war mentality? The truth is you become what you practice and do.

It is known that eight nations have detonated nuclear weapons during the last 58 years. Five have used the lands of Indigenous peoples, the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and China . The Maori, the Marshall Islanders, Australian Aboriginals, the Bashir, the Tibetans, the Tartar and the First Peoples of the Americas are just some of the Indigenous nations that have been consistently contaminated with nuclear poison.

In the 2000 Review Conference all 187 NPT signatories agreed to 13 Practical Steps for the systemic and progressive disarmament of the worlds nuclear weapons. These words will only have value when they are put into action. Let this become what you practice and do.

My cultural area of expertise is recognizing the spiritual aspects of energy, as life’s fluidity, known to others as radiant love. The ionizing radioactive toxic poisoning is life’s energy un-stabilized. The culture of nuclear violence began its existence as a cold, calculating parasitical entity consuming the spirit of the Life Givers. This is separation of the mind from the heart.

In terms of how has the nuclear chain industry effects the lives of our Pueblo people, I am the second generation who is witnessing the radioactive poisoning, the genocidal continuity of identity theft. My Aunties and Uncles were the manual laborers who served Oppenhiemer and his fellow scientists by disposing of their sloppy manipulation of the nuclear waste, henceforth creating the legacy of toxic, radioactive waste. Our children and their children are now having skin diseases, cancer-related deaths of relatives, weaken immune systems allowing germs, viruses and other man-made radioactive material to invade our bodies and spirits. Soon ours and the whole genetic pools throughout the world will be lost. As we speak genetic cells are deforming, dysfunctioning, and sterility is setting in.
Why does one think it is permissible for the USA and its cohorts to forcefully use nuclear phallic symbols of earth penetrators and not think of it as the violent raping of our Earth Mother? Where is our sense of outrage and, especially, where is the love for our homelands? We need to reclaim homeland security as healthy boundaries and sacred spaces. It is not only about the people having a right to be safe but also about other peoples - countries being safe and healthy around delinquent playground, or nuclear world power bullies.

Seeing with the eyes of the heart, we weep and pray for the senseless loss of innocent lives, the unwarranted temporal war devastation of Mother Earth, the unnecessary injuries due to use of “depleted” uranium weaponry. The deliberate death and destruction, harming of others for one’s own personal gain is appalling. Feel the pain and be moved to declare your worthiness to a non-nuclear, non-toxic world and promote non-violence and peace without threat of war, force or vengeance.

The Nuclear Weapons States knew from the beginning, in their own scientific findings, the whole process of radioactivity is long-term and deadly. It is horrifically destructive and an unnecessarily cruel method to rule the world just to gain control of global resources that belong to others. Make no more excuses or justifications or ignorance claim of not knowing, there is no “peaceful” or “safe use” of nuclear un-stable ionizing radioactive man-made materials. No matter how it is packaged for profit.

Indigenous peoples still believe the debate cannot treat disarmament and non-proliferation separately from the mining of uranium, the testing of weapons, nuclear research and the storage of toxic waste. We, Indigenous Mothers of our global families, call upon all nation states to be about purposeful living for our mutually assured world wellness.

We, Indigenous peoples of the world reiterate the call for measurable and verifiable cessation of scientific, technological, political, and corporate activities that result in a threat to the earth and her inhabitants. We call upon you, nation states, to adopt and enforce the termination of all activities of, or relating to, the development, production, and testing of nuclear technologies, including so called “peaceful” purposes. A healthy life is the inalienable birthright the NPT should uphold for all peoples of the world.

If our multitude of Indigenous languages were to be expressed here, we would use expressions in songs and rhythmic patterns to say, “We Indigenous Elders of our earthly, global families, unite with the paradigm shift to a cultural consciousness of mutually assured wellness of our multi-verse.

Today is the critical mass time for saying no more scientific bullying. No more use of terror tactics among the children of the world. We have the spirit, the radiant love, coming from all sacred elements to help seek the truth. We all have the ability to choose to unlearn, re-learn, and re-affirm our desire to be truly non-proliferating of un-stable ionizing radioactive sources of energies. NO separation from head to heart. We all have able wisdom, the love radiance of sharing, caring and nurturing to bring transformation of relationships.

We have diverse cultural ways for seeking the truth to nurture and strengthen the energy bonding of the multiversal spirit of reciprocity, earth to people and peoples to peoples , in a manner harmonious with the cyclical nature of the breathe of life.

As was recognized in the Indigenous Peoples Presentation last year and at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, we continue to recommend with slight clarifications:
1) That at the 2004 Prep Com, NPT States Parties consider enabling a gender balanced delegation of Indigenous peoples to have direct input on matters before the NPT on crucial areas where their environment and livelihood have been severely devastated;

2) That NPT State Parties become directly informed on the issues of uranium mining, testing, experimenting, rehabilitation, and toxic waste storage affecting Indigenous communities through the establishment of relevant and formal reporting procedures and the provision of adequate resources to the task of a timely, independent parallel compilation of relevant information and findings;

3) That there is a commitment to the establishment of a holistic Indigenous Committee which reports to the NPT process officially and regularly on various States actions to address the issue of disadvantage arising from findings of such reporting relevant to Indigenous communities;

Let us commit to cultural valuing of peace by starting with self and saying thankfulness prayers, having good thought for relational sustainable living. For all things of goodness, all elements seen and unseen, we give thanks. I give blessings to you from our ancestral past, the future generations and from the here and now of radiant love and may the breathe of life be extended to you all as you continue your deliberations. Go^od ddah.