Last week the United States joined the international community and became the last nation to adopt the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

President Barack Obama announced his decision to sign the declaration at the second White House Tribal Nations Conference on Dec. 16. Of the four nations around the world that initially opposed the declaration, Australia ratified it in 2009, New Zealand ratified it earlier this year, and Canada followed in November.

Though not legally binding, the declaration, “is the most significant development in international human rights law in decades. International human rights law now recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples as peoples, including rights of self-determination, property, and culture,” Robert T. Coulter, executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center, said. “It is a first step to respecting land and water rights, and protecting sacred sites.”

Winnemem Wintu Tribal Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco pointed out that while this is an important milestone, the language in the declaration only includes federally recognized tribes. “For the Winnemem Wintu we will continue to be discriminated [against] by the U.S. agencies. [There is] still a fight ahead to have a voice!”

The Winnemem Wintu’s fight for recognition started with the 1851 Treaty at Cottonwood Creek. The Winnemem ceded lands in return for a 25-square-mile reservation, but the treaty was never ratified. The tribe was left without a reservation and their land was taken over by encroaching settlement. In the mid-1980s the Winnemem did not appear on the Bureau of Indian Affairs official list of federally recognized tribes. Sisk-Franco said the declaration’s Article 37 may hold an answer to their dilemma:

Article 37: Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with States or their successors and to have States honour and respect such treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.

Without a doubt, the declaration is a powerful tool to advocate for indigenous rights, and in the long run this may be a way for the Winnmem Wintu, as well as other tribes in similar situations, to regain federal recognition.

At the Tribal Nations Conference, attended by representatives of the nation’s 565 recognized tribes, Obama said of the declaration, “The aspirations it affirms, including the respect for the institutions and rich cultures of Native peoples, are ones we must always seek to fulfill.”

Coulter points out, however, “To see the promise of the Declaration become a reality, we must continue to fight for laws, policies and relationships that take into account the permanent presence of Indian nations in this country, and throughout the world.”

Check out our September 2007 blog comment on the language in the declaration regarding protection of sacred sites, which was much stronger in earlier drafts.