STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL STRUGGLES, 40th ANNUAL EARTH DAY

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

On this 7th anniversary of the 7th Generation Walk for Mother Earth, here are 7 things we found to be true, and worth repeating:

*we can't continue to have an economy where the wealth of the dominant society is based on the destruction of another people's way of life;

*with the full support of government, corporations gain control over the land and resources that rightfully belong to Indigenous Peoples and exploit it for profit;

*some of the tactics corporations and governments use are: forcing the jumping through bureaucratic hoops and running through mazes to bury communities in paperwork; imposing costly, long drawn-out legal fights; and the cynical use of money in poor communities to divide community members, including families;

*the Canadian government has shamefully opposed the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and has actively obstructed the international movement for Indigenous rights.

Since we know these things are unjust and unacceptable; and since we all live in this land and wish to live interconnected with each other and with the land in peace and harmony;

We commit to standing alongside our Aboriginal brothers and sisters in their struggles against these forces of oppression and destruction.

We also recognize, with a positive spirit, that to go forward in a good way...

*in accord with the principle of 7 Generations, we need to think of those yet unborn, coming to the Earth in the next 7 Generations, for every action we take will impact their lives.

*we need to realize that the economy must be run in harmony with ecology, for if it continues to be run at the expense of the environment, in the future neither will provide for life. Earth's household depends on Earth's living systems.

*we acknowledge that as the Earth and her elements support life, what we do to the Earth we also do to our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits. We must therefore treat Earth, Water, Air, and Fire as sacred and interact with the elements with care and respect.

Since we all share in and are a part of the circle life, we support the right of the land to remain free from industrial exploitation and devastation;

We stand together in community as caretakers of the land and of each other.