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LETTER: Indigenous peoples have long helped protect environment from dangers – Rocky Mountain Outlook

October 11, 2024

LETTER: To take the climate actions we must, it’s time we listen to and support Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

On Sept. 30, we recognized the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, which focuses on the intergenerational harm to Canada’s Indigenous peoples due to forced attendance at residential and day schools.

However, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) also recognizes the role of the environment in the well-being of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The TRC calls to action No. 43 and No. 44 urge Canadian governments at all levels to use the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as the framework for reconciliation. Article 29(1) of the UNDRIP cites the rights of Indigenous peoples to the protection and conservation of their lands.

In Canada and elsewhere in the world, Indigenous people have been doing heavy lifting when it comes to protecting our shared environment, while suffering more than their share from the effects of failed protection of the Earth. Those in remote communities can be subject to the health dangers of extractive industries polluting their waters, air, and the fish and animals that provide their traditional food sources.

Read More: https://www.rmoutlook.com/vox-populi/letter-indigenous-peoples-have-long-helped-protect-environment-from-dangers-9625309

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