TITLE: Supporting the Inclusion of an Indigenous Chapter in any Renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which superseded the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and came into force January 1, 1994, is an agreement intended to remove barriers to trade and investment between Canada, the United States and Mexico; and
WHEREAS, the current Administration has threatened to withdraw from NAFTA unless its provisions can be amended to improve U.S. interests; and
WHEREAS, Indigenous Peoples in Canada, the United States, and Mexico have significant interests of their own, such as the Jay Treaty of 1794, that should be addressed in any revisiting of the NAFTA framework; and
WHEREAS, such interests include, but are not limited to, the right to participate in NAFTA negotiations, the protection of longstanding treaty rights, the protection of Indigenous cultural property and traditional knowledge, the inclusion of indigenous negotiators, and the incorporation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and
WHEREAS, the interests of Indigenous Peoples can be met effectively through the inclusion of an Indigenous Peoples Chapter within NAFTA.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) strongly supports the active participation of Indigenous Peoples from Canada, the United States and Mexico in any NAFTA negotiations and strongly supports the development of an Indigenous Peoples Chapter within NAFTA; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.