We’ve always known it. Indigenous people are the guardians of our planet’s biodiversity. A few weeks ago — sitting in a beautifully constructed longhouse on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal -Indigenous leaders from around the world talked about the many ways they are attempting to preserve their ancestral homelands in the face of climate change and threats to their territories. The longhouse was part of the Indigenous Village at COP15, the United Nations Convention on biodiversity, organized by the Canadian-based Indigenous Leadership Initiative. Threats to Indigenous lands around the world include the displacement of Indigenous peoples, decreased protections or persecution by their respective governments, criminalization of those defending their land, and violence, including death. Although Indigenous peoples make up only 6.2% of the overall population, according to the UN, they protect most of the biodiversity on this planet.
South Dakota is implementing a new council to tackle the growing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis. South Dakota Attorney General Mark Vargo announced the formation of the Attorney General’s MMIP Advisory Council on Tuesday, Jan 4. The group will advise the Attorney General on establishing goals, protocols, and parameters for the A.G.’s new MMIP Office. “The issues surrounding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women demand attention,” Tatewin Means, the former Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Attorney General who is co-chair of the MMIP Advisory Council, said in a statement. “I look forward to working with MMIP Coordinator Allison Morrisette, the Council, and the Attorney General in making the MMIP Coordinator efforts successful.”
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith from the KIPI News Center.
