NiaTero - 2020 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 51
INDIGENOUS WAYS AND MEANS
It is our hope that the story of this annual report
illustrates how interwoven reciprocity and storytelling
are as guiding principles for Nia Tero. As an organization,
we seek to embody these practices in all our efforts and
relationships.
Another practice Nia Tero has
developed, to root and infuse our
principles throughout all we do,
is what we call Indigenous Ways
and Means. We look to Indigenous
Ways and Means to create equitable
spaces for meeting and gathering,
and as a way to create opportunities
and environments best suited
for learning through Indigenous
peoples’ stories, knowledge, and
sovereignty.
Global awareness is growing.
This year in Paris, 50 heads of state signed an agreement
in support of Indigenous peoples, acknowledging the
deep interconnection of climate justice with social justice.
Culturally, there’s been a great leap in understanding the
role that Indigenous territories must play in both mitigating
climate change (such as the way forests absorb carbon
NIA TERO - THRIVING PEOPLES. THRIVING PLACES.
from the atmosphere) and adapting to the changes that are
already occurring. What we must insist upon, and persist
in, is the willpower and resolve necessary to return the right
of self-determination and self-governance to Indigenous
peoples and the understanding that
to grant these rights to Indigenous
peoples is both the just and the wise
commitment all nation states must
make.
Going forward into 2021 and
beyond, our work needs to deeply
underscore the critical importance
of supporting Indigenous territorial
guardianship for all humanity,
Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
Increasing our collective societal
awareness that social justice is
security for the natural world is
essential to combat climate change.
This is a fundamental objective of Nia Tero. We believe
that it is in the enlightened self-interest of all beings
who live on Earth for us, as humans, to unite around the
determined efforts of Indigenous peoples to exercise their
sovereign rights to protect their territories.
INDIGENOUS WAYS AND MEANS
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