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This article was written as part of the Center for World Indigenous Studies Research Study on the medicinal/pharmacological use of wildlife products for small communities supported by a grant from [...]

Ms. Lannette Nickens contributed suggestions in the final sections of this article. She is a former Assistant Attorney General of the State of Alaska (USA) and is an experienced attorney [...]

In my book entitled, Biodiversity Wars: Coexistence of Biocultural Collapse in the 21st Century (DayKeeper Press, 2019)[I] I discuss at length the need for a renewed effort to identify and [...]

This article derives from an interview with Dr. Ryser conducted by Zoltan Grossman on October 5, 2009. It was published in the book Asserting Native Resilience: Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations Face The Climate Crises, edited by Zoltan Grossman and Alan Parker, and released in 2012. In this essay, Dr. Ryser comprehensively explores the role indigenous sovereignty plays in addressing the challenges posed by climate change. Emphasizing the importance of traditional knowledge and governance structures in fostering environmental resilience and effective adaptation strategies, he highlights the critical need for indigenous peoples to assert their authority as regulators and standard-setters in the face of climate change., If one wants to find the green parts of the world, look only where the Indigenous people live, and there's a reason for that. There is a strong motive to [...]

Originally published in the Fourth World Journal in 2010, this article documents the outcomes of a research simulation conducted during a 'Global Pluralism' course at Antioch University/Muckleshoot College in 2009. During this 10-week exercise, ten graduate students assumed the roles of various stakeholders in climate negotiations, mirroring real-world dynamics observed in international conferences such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This simulation revealed indigenous peoples' marginalized status within civil society frameworks., Indigenous peoples around the world are being adversely affected by changing weather, droughts, floods, melting glaciers, and shifting temperatures, resulting in serious health problems, environmental changes, changes in plants and [...]

In this article, Dr. Ryser recounts the key events and strategies that led to the successful Indigenous movement to safeguard Indigenous rights during the Canadian Patriation. He tracks the movement's development from the 1969 'White Paper,' in which Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Minister of Indian Affairs Jean Chretien proposed eliminating the special status of Indigenous peoples in the new constitution, to Grand Cheif George Manuel's 1980 initiative, the 'Constitution Express,' in which he organized more than 600 Indigenous activists to travel across Canada by train to demand that the rights guaranteed in their Indigenous treaties with the British be upheld by the new Canadian Constitution. This article was initially published in 2012 as Chapter 4 of his book Indigenous Nations and Modern States: The Political Emergence of Nations Challenging State Power., My first-hand participation in the political transformation of 'band councils' into 'First Nations' during the period from 1970 through to 2006 began when I became an advisor to Chief George [...]

Fourth World knowledge systems vary widely but in the contemporary international environment, nations may be seen as engaging neighboring nations, states and international institutions with differing capacities. Understanding the different [...]

In this transcript of Dr. Ryser's remarks made before the US Department of the Interior's Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform, held in Seattle, Washington, on Feb 13, 2003, Dr. Ryser examines historical and contemporary trust relationships between states and indigenous nations. He outlines the origins and evolution of these arrangements, emphasizing the imbalance of power and the often exploitative nature of such relationships., Madam Chair and Members of the Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform, thank you for the invitation to present my analysis regarding forms of trusteeship arrangements between states and [...]

The Nations International Criminal Tribunal is founded on the idea that indigenous peoples should take responsibility for legally and politically holding accountable states, other entities created by states and individuals [...]

Comprehending the connectivity of things is the driving motive behind forming knowledge. Recognizing and experiencing relationships is the basis for knowledge. Each culture serves as the dynamic framework within which [...]

Along with territorial issues and cultural issues, the principle of self-determination is profoundly influential in the relations between states and between states and Fourth World ('indigenous') peoples. Stated simply, the [...]

Cowlitz is a consciousness of people, place and cosmos that holds within it the notion of eternal changeability. Cowlitz is a mixture of many parts (resulting from generations of contact [...]

Fourth World peoples constitute a combined population of an estimated 1.9 billion people in more than 5000 nations. Located on all continents except Antarctica, Peoples also referred to as 'indigenous' [...]

The ground was wet and puddles collected in the low spots reflecting the grayness of the clouded sky. The smell of winter approaching filled the air and an eagle floated [...]

During the fifteen year period between 1970 and 1985, international legislation has undergone major and significant changes recognizing the greater role being played by Indigenous Nations in international relations. These [...]

The conduct of international relations is one of the oldest of social arts. It demands of individuals who will practice the disciplines of tact, discretion, poise, and finesse a special [...]

A checklist of 2265 spider species and subspecies, 495 genera and 71 families is provided. Data were extracted from the South African National Survey of Arachnida database and over 200 taxonomic revisions, ending December 2022. Global distributions, endemicity and conservation assessment using IUCN Criteria are provided for each species. A total of 1325 spp. are endemic to South Africa (58.5%), 126 spp. (5.6%) are of special concern and 693 spp. (30.6%) are Data Deficient (DD), while 15 species were described without exact locality data. Most species (1444 spp., 63.8%) are widely distributed with no known threats and are of Least Concern. A total of 1316 spp. (57.6%) are known from both sexes and 23 spp. (1.0%) were described from juveniles. Salticidae is the most species-rich family (354 spp.), followed by Gnaphosidae (195 spp.), Thomisidae (143 spp.) and Araneidae (100 spp.) and ten families are represented by a single species.

Genocide is a term now commonly used to refer to the mass murder of a group resulting in their destruction in whole or in part. The inventor of the word 'genocide' did not originally conceive the concept in narrow terms but in broad and inclusive terms. Mass murder as a crime is a narrow reading of the term that prevents state-based legal and political institutions from holding perpetrators accountable for the destruction of indigenous peoples. The phrase 'cultural genocide' was initially contemplated as one of three forms of genocide by the drafters of the 1948 state-based International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. When the United Nations finally adopted the new Convention that came into force in 1951, the phrase 'cultural genocide' was not included. Cultural genocide means 'cultural death' for millions of individuals, their families, and their communities in the Fourth World. Rafaël Lemkin, his legal colleagues, United Nations diplomats, and political leaders decided instead of including cultural genocide in the Convention, they would view violations of culture as a matter of 'human rights' to be appropriately discussed, evaluated, and remedied as a policy within and under domestic state laws. The decision directly prevented Fourth World peoples from being considered and understood as a distinct subject of international law when their cultures were violated. In this essay, we consider the meaning of 'cultural death' and the decisions that led to Fourth World peoples becoming dismissed as populations to be ignored as targets of genocide. Keywords: Culture, Cultural Genocide, Historical Trauma, Rafael Lemkin, Fourth World peoples worldwide are under intense social, economic, political, and cultural pressures to assimilate into state populations and abandon their cultures. The result is that the dominant Fourth World [...]

Relations between Fourth World Nations and the world's states that were formed on top of their ancestral territories are complicated. Political activists leading non-governmental organizations, scholars in academic institutions, and [...]

Los países de China, Estados Unidos, India, Rusia, Japón y Alemania emiten el 60% de los gases de carbono del mundo que provocan el cambio climático y la degradación de la biodiversidad. Al mismo tiempo, estos países y las empresas que crearon buscan obtener ganancias económicas considerables de la 'Energía Verde' como reemplazo de la dependencia de la economía basada en el carbono. El gobierno estatal y las políticas empresariales promueven la extracción de metales como el oro, el tántalo y el litio, elementos clave necesarios para apoyar el desarrollo de reemplazos eléctricos para máquinas a base de petróleo como los automóviles. El problema explorado en este artículo es que, si bien la 'energía verde' es un paso positivo hacia la reversión de los efectos adversos de la economía basada en el carbono, se causan daños catastróficos al medio ambiente y a los pueblos indígenas. La consiguiente explotación minera y de otros recursos del 'reverdecimiento' destruye y contamina directamente el medio ambiente al mismo tiempo que fuerza violentamente la expulsión de los pueblos indígenas de sus territorios o incluso mata a miles de personas. La democratización de la minería y la explotación de otros recursos dentro de los territorios ancestrales de los pueblos indígenas es esencial y debe convertirse en el nuevo estándar, un estándar basado en obtener el consentimiento de los pueblos indígenas afectados. El autor presenta un plan de energía verde para mediar en las relaciones entre naciones indígenas, empresas y estados. La extracción y explotación de recursos de 'energía verde' es una actividad económica dominante pero destructiva en la República Democrática del Congo (RDC), el segundo estado más grande del continente africano. La República Democrática del Congo ilustra el problema como la mayor fuente de tantalio de 'energía verde', un 'metal refractario' extraído con litio esencial para producir condensadores, chips de computadora y semiconductores utilizados en tecnología eléctrica. El tantalio y el litio se extraen principalmente de los territorios de las naciones indígenas con consecuencias desastrosas. Palabras clave: Twa, Mbuti, Balega, Tántalo, Litio, Oro, El costo de la energía verde El impulso rápidamente acelerado de la 'Energía Verde' por parte de los líderes políticos de los países de alta tecnología, sus compañías mineras y [...]

El problema central al que se enfrentaron las primeras naciones del mundo fue históricamente y sigue siendo hoy la cuestión del acceso y uso del territorio que ocupan. Las migraciones, ocupaciones y colonizaciones de los pueblos han continuado como parte de las relaciones humanas durante más de 60.000 años. Durante este tiempo, las relaciones entre las naciones emergentes se caracterizaron por la absorción de una nación por otra, algunas asociándose a través de la mezcla social y las naciones independientes permanecieron independientes entre sí. Los pueblos logran estos procesos culturales a través de la absorción forzada, el intercambio cultural o el reconocimiento de la igualdad de poder. Estos cambios continúan hoy, excepto que el establecimiento de fronteras permanentes alrededor de naciones o naciones combinadas ha forzado la necesidad de estructuras y procesos para mediar las relaciones entre naciones que fueron forzadas dentro de áreas limitadas de estados. Esta circunstancia exige determinar si las naciones permanecerán 'absorbidas, asociadas o se independizarán de los estados modernos. Los reclamos de las naciones sobre sus territorios entran en conflicto con los reclamos de los Estados sobre las mismas regiones, una circunstancia exacerbada por los intereses económicos y comerciales de las corporaciones transnacionales y las empresas comerciales que buscan lucrar con la ubicación de los territorios de las naciones o el acceso a materias primas subsuperficiales no desarrolladas, tierras, bosques, minerales superficiales y suelos que sustentan la agricultura. Las naciones y los Estados constituyen los principales sistemas políticos de organización humana requeridos por el derecho internacional moderno basado en el estado para implementar el principio del consentimiento libre, previo e informado (CLPI). Sin embargo, sin un mecanismo formal y exigible para llevar a cabo las promesas nacionales e internacionales destinadas a implementar los derechos de las naciones al 'consentimiento', el desequilibrio de poder entre las naciones y sus contrapartes en los estados y corporaciones deja a las naciones dependiendo de la implementación de su oponente. Este artículo aborda temas de interés entre naciones, estados, corporaciones transnacionales y empresas comerciales. Dados los detalles limitados del CLPI expresados en leyes y acuerdos estatales, ni los estados ni las naciones pueden estar seguros de un proceso aceptable y definido para llegar a acuerdos mutuos o métodos para hacer cumplir los compromisos asumidos por las partes que dan su consentimiento. Al definir el establecimiento y las funciones de los mecanismos de monitoreo intergubernamentales o no gubernamentales que pueden servir como agencias para facilitar la mediación o las negociaciones entre naciones y estados, los analizo en detalle. Palabras clave: nación, estado, corporación, colonización, consentimiento, derecho nacional, derecho estatal, igualdad política, negociación., La Sra. Lannette Nickens contribuyó con sugerencias en las secciones finales de este articulo. Es ex Fiscal General Adjunta del Estado de Alaska (EE. UU.) y es abogada y mediadora [...]

The twenty-nine 'less developed states' are rich with undeveloped oil and gas, mineral, land, water, metals, and food sources currently extracted for export by major raw materials extraction companies. The raw materials are located mainly inside or adjacent to the territories of more than 1,600 indigenous nations that have not given their consent for taking these materials by the companies or to the states. While the states and indigenous nations occupy the same territorial space and political space (and often nations' territories are divided by states' boundaries), the States claim sovereignty over all the land and resources. State assertions of sovereignty mean that the state government claims the authority to access and use nations' territories and resources of the various nations to its benefit. If a state is weak (meaning it cannot govern its people, enforce its laws, and otherwise is governed corruptly), it becomes a logical target for company development. Asserting its sovereignty over all land and resources inside its claimed boundaries, the government of these southern hemisphere states facilitate transnational extractive corporations. Meanwhile, they take vast wealth at the expense of indigenous nations and ultimately benefit the state and commercial enterprises mainly located in northern hemisphere states. This paper discusses how States and transnational extractive corporations engage in raw resource removal from indigenous nations' territories without regulations or controls internationally or by the various states and nations. Meanwhile, the companies indirectly or overtly perpetrate violence against indigenous nations, their economies, and the environment prompting the spread of conflicts and the commission of genocide. Despite human rights violations, the United Nations and other state-based bodies do not impose international organization constraints. There remains no accountability for the destruction in communities, the environment, or economies. By implementing nation-based laws, Indigenous nations may be the only actors to stop the human and environmental carnage resulting from unregulated mining, forest cutting, and industrial food production. Furthermore, nation-based laws may also moderate unrestrained development of commercial and urban centers carried out in the name of improving the social, economic, and political lives of so-called 'less developed' countries. Nation-based governance and laws are only possible if efforts to corrupt nations and divide them politically can be prevented. Keywords: 'free, prior and informed consent', raw materials, nation territories, unregulated, voluntary regulation., 'Land' is the birthplace of life on the Earth and forms the basis of human cultures worldwide. Access to and use of lands and all that exists beneath those lands [...]

The central issue facing the world's first nations was historically and remains today the question of access to and use of the territory they occupy. Peoples' migrations, occupations, and colonization have continued as part of human relations for more than 60,000 years. Over this time, relations between emerging nations featured one nation being absorbed by another, some becoming associated through social mixing and independent nations remaining independent from one another. Peoples achieve these cultural processes through forced absorption, cultural exchange, or recognition of the equality of power. These changes continue today, except that the establishment of permanent boundaries around nations or combined nations has forced the need for structures and processes for mediating relations between nations that were forced inside bounded areas of states. These circumstance demands determining whether nations will remain 'absorbed, associated or become independent of modern states. Nations' claims over their territories come into conflict with States' claims over the same regions--a circumstance exacerbated by the economic and business interests of transnational corporations and commercial enterprises seeking to profit from the location of nations' territories or access to undeveloped subsurface raw materials, lands, forests, surface minerals and soils supportive of agriculture. Nations and States constitute the primary political systems of human organization required under modern state-based international law to implement the principle of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). However, without a formal and enforceable mechanism to carry out international and domestic pledges intended to implement nations' rights to 'consent,' the imbalance of power between nations and their counterparts in states and corporations leaves nations depending on their opponent's implementation is possible. This article discusses subjects of concern between nations, states, transnational corporations, and commercial businesses. Given limited FPIC details expressed in state-based laws and agreements, neither states nor nations can be assured of an acceptable and defined process for reaching mutual agreements or methods for enforcing commitments made by consenting parties. Defining the establishment and functions of intergovernmental or non-governmental monitoring mechanisms that may serve as agencies for facilitating mediation or negotiations between nations and states, I discuss these in detail. Keywords: nation, state, corporation, colonization, consent, nation-based law, state-based law, political equals, negotiation., When a person or a people has been recognized as 'having a right,' what is occurring here? What does this mean? In law and diplomatic relations, 'a right' can be [...]