FIMI/IIWF's Participation at the V Continental Meeting of Indigenous Women of the Americas
July 9-11, 2007—Quebec, Canada—On July 9th, more than 250 Indigenous women from 17 countries across North, Central and South America gathered at Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada for the Fifth Continental Meeting of Indigenous Women of the Americas. Coordinated by ENLACE (The Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas), these Continental Meetings began with the purpose of creating unique spaces for Indigenous women to reinforce their leadership capacities, develop partnerships, and share strategies for the defense of Indigenous women's rights at the local, national, and international levels.
The Fifth Continental Meeting, hosted by Quebec Native Women (QNW), focused on addressing the common concerns of Indigenous women, such as intellectual property rights, the promotion of non-violence, and the international recognition of Indigenous People's rights. A principal objective of the meeting was to encourage Indigenous women to share their spiritual wisdom and teachings in order to strengthen their cultural identity and language, as well as to familiarize them to the Mohawk nation and community of Kahnawake. Under the theme Restoring Our Balance, the panels considered the unique human rights struggles that Indigenous women face and encouraged the exchange of capacity-building strategies in areas such as Indigenous women's health, research development, entrepreneurship and economic development. Additionally, the meeting centered on urging the Canadian government to recognize and accept the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples so that it can be adopted during the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly.
For the panel titled "Economic Development," FIMI Coordinator Monica Aleman gave a presentation that questioned the current development model and proposed opening spaces of dialogue and interaction between donors and Indigenous women. In particular, she underlined the detrimental effects of poverty on Indigenous women and indicated the need for governments and communities to recognize the productive and reproductive roles of Indigenous women. Also, in her speech she emphasized the importance of creating and utilizing a development model that defends the Indigenous Peoples' right of self-determination, as well as their right of free, prior and informed consent.
View the Resolution and Photo Gallery from the Fifth Continental Meeting.