ELAW Partners Collaborate with U.S. Tribes

L to R: Waimem Franco, Winnemem Principle Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco, Mark Franco, Lottie Cunningham Wren, Ben Branham Jr. (Hoopa Tribal Councilman), Helene Sisk, Hector Huertas.

ELAW partners Lottie Cunningham Wren from Nicaragua and Hector Huertas from Panama are working with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Organization of American States (OAS) to draft declarations on the rights of indigenous peoples. Lottie and Hector are eager to involve more U.S.-based tribes in the OAS process.
While in Eugene on Working Exchange Fellowships, Lottie and Hector met with members of the Winnemem Wintu, an "unrecognized" tribe living along the McCloud River in northern California. The Winnemem are challenging government plans to raise the Shasta Dam. The lake that formed when the dam was originally built drowned Winnemem homesteads, ancestral villages, cemeteries and sacred sites. Plans to raise the dam higher threaten more sacred sites.
Lottie and Hector are now helping the Winnemem share their plight with indigenous leaders throughout the Americas through the Indigenous Peoples Caucus.
Many thanks to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund for supporting Hector and Lottie`s visit.

GPS Receivers: A Valuable Tool for Protecting Indigenous Lands

Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers are an important tool for communities seeking to establish legal title to indigenous lands, or to prove that proposed projects would impact indigenous communities. ELAW has provided GPS receivers to Hector Huertas in Panama (photographed with ELAW scientist Meche Lu); Harrison Ngau in Sarawak, Malaysia; and Lottie Cunningham Wren in Nicaragua.