The Guardian 13 December, 2006
Indigenous peoples summit conference
opts for renewable energy sources
A summit meeting of Indigenous people held in Window Rock, Navajo nation in the USA at the beginning of December adopted a declaration which opposed the use of uranium for either energy or nuclear weapons. The Summit opted for the use of renewable energy sources. Their declaration follows:
We, the Peoples gathered at the Indigenous World Uranium Summit, at this critical time of intensifying nuclear threats to Mother Earth and all life, demand a worldwide ban on uranium mining, processing, enrichment, fuel use, and weapons testing and deployment, and nuclear waste dumping on Native Lands.
Past, present and future generations of Indigenous Peoples have been disproportionately affected by the international nuclear weapons and power industry. The nuclear fuel chain poisons our people, land, air and waters and threatens our very existence and our future generations. Nuclear power is not a solution to global warming. Uranium mining, nuclear energy development and international agreements (e.g., the recent US-India nuclear cooperation treaty) that foster the nuclear fuel chain violate our basic human rights and fundamental natural laws of Mother Earth, endangering our traditional cultures and spiritual well-being.
We reaffirm the Declaration of the World Uranium Hearing in Salzburg, Austria, in 1992, that "uranium and other radioactive minerals must remain in their natural location", and dedicate ourselves to a nuclear-free future.
Indigenous Peoples are connected spiritually and culturally to our Mother, the Earth. Accordingly, we endorse and encourage development of renewable energy sources that sustain and not destroy Indigenous lands and the Earth’s ecosystems. In tribute to our ancestors, we continue centuries of resistance against colonialism. We recognise the work, courage, dedication and sacrifice of those individuals from Indigenous Nations and from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, the United States, and Vanuatu, who participated in the Summit. We will continue to support activists worldwide in their non-violent efforts to stop uranium development.
We are determined to share the knowledge we have gained at this Summit with the world. In the weeks and months ahead, we will summarise and disseminate the testimonies, traditional Indigenous knowledge, and medical and scientific evidence that justify a worldwide ban on uranium development. We will enunciate specific plans of action at the tribal, local, national and international levels to support Native resistance to the nuclear fuel chain. And we will pursue legal and political redress for all past, current and future impacts of the nuclear fuel chain on Indigenous Peoples and their resources.