International Indian Treaty Council conference returns to Oceti Sakowin for 50th Anniversary

Fifty years ago nearly 100 sovereign nations from around the world came together to form an alliance that would unite Indigenous Peoples in their struggles for human and treaty rights, self-determination, food sovereignty, environmental health and justice. This gathering was the first conference of the International Indian Treaty Council.

The Council was founded in June 1974 during a gathering on the Standing Rock Reservation. It was attended by more than 5,000 representatives from 98 Indigenous Nations. Later this month, from June 21-24, thousands will gather for the 50th Anniversary of that inaugural conference. It’s set to take place once again on Oceti Sakowin Territory on the Standing Rock Reservation.

IITC executive director Andrea Carmen, a citizen of the Yaqui Indigenous Nation of southern Arizona and Northern Mexico, has been meeting with Standing Rock’s Tribal Council and also the Elders Preservation Council. Organizers are enthusiastic about this year’s events.

“Really, there was no place we could have the 50th Anniversary Treaty Conference except Standing Rock,” Carmen said. “We’re excited that we’re being met with open arms and a lot of enthusiasm and interest because it’s part of Standing Rock’s history, not just ours. And a lot of people are really interested in revitalizing those discussions, talking about what is a treaty and what does that mean?”

When the IITC was founded in the early 1970s, it was just after the 1973 Wounded Knee Occupation, which was part of a larger string of protests and occupations, such as the 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz. The Wounded Knee Occupation drew a lot of public attention to the way the federal government infringed upon the rights of Tribal people and their sovereignty.

Those occupations and protests would lay the groundwork for later movements, like the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline opposition camps in 2016. That movement aimed to protect the Missouri River from the 1,172-mile pipeline carrying crude oil from the Bakken Formation in North Dakota to a refinery in Illinois.

Over the years, through word of mouth, coalition building, advocacy, training and technical assistance, the IITC has grown to build direct effective participation of Indigenous Peoples nationally and internationally through events, gatherings and policy discussions. The IITC serves as an international voice for Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations.

In fact, in 1977, the IITC was the first Indigenous Peoples organization to receive Consultative Status from the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and in 2011, became the only one that has been upgraded to General Consultative Status in recognition of its work for the rights of Indigenous Peoples in a wide range of international bodies. IITC represents hundreds of Indigenous Nations, peoples and organizations from North, Central and South America, the Arctic, the Pacific and the Caribbean.

Its founding document, the “Declaration of Continuing Independence” affirms that “Treaties between sovereign nations explicitly entail agreements which represent ‘the supreme law of the land,’ binding each party to an inviolate international relationship.”

According to a press release by the IITC, the conference will feature presentations by Indigenous leaders from Oceti Sakowin Treaty Territory and worldwide, as well as cultural and spiritual sharing and recent updates from the IITC’s work at the United Nations. Discussions will focus on core shared concerns, including Treaty rights to land and water, women and children’s rights, food sovereignty, climate change, youth organizing and impacts of mining and other extractives.

IITC Board member and co-founder Bill Means, Oglala Lakota, is one of the conference coordinators. He spoke on the historic significance of this event: “We made it to the United Nations, which was our original goal, and we’re still bringing the significant issues impacting our nations to the world stage. We look forward to sharing what we’ve achieved in the last 50 years and to discussing plans and strategies to defend our peoples’ rights for the next 50 years.”

Conference attendees will meet at The Bay in Wakpala, near the Grand River Casino and Resort on Lake Oahe. The opening ceremony and lighting of the sacred fire will begin at 5:30 AM on Friday, June 21, and conclude at noon on Monday, June 24 with the adoption of conference resolutions.