Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

July 17, 2010

Modoc Nation: Statement UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Censored News,

I am forwarding this to you for your consideration in publishing it in Censored News. It is the Modoc Nation’s statement in response to the State Department’s request for comments on the United States reexamination of its position on the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Please note that the Modoc Tribe (of southern Oregon and northern California), now known as the Modoc Nation is the first and, perhaps, still the only native nation/tribe in the Americas to draft its own statement of indigenous rights based on the UNDRIP, ours being drafted on November 20, 2008.
Blessings,
Two Eagles (Perry Chesnut)
Secretary of State, Modoc Nation
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July 15, 2010
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State, United States of America
In care of: S/SR Global Intergovernmental Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW., Suite 1317
Washington, DC 20520.
Re: Consultations with federally recognized tribes on the United States Government’s reexamination of its position on the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The Modoc Nation (formerly known as the Modoc Tribe) is a federally recognized tribe listed in the Federal Register under the label “Klamath Tribes.” This misnomer that groups three separate sovereign federally recognized indigenous tribes under a single name, is a serious problem for us that goes to the heart of our sovereignty and our identity and survival as a unique people and culture. The “Klamath Tribes” is not a single tribe; rather it is a name used to refer to the confederation of three separate tribes: the Klamath Tribe, the Modoc Tribe, and the Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians. Our sovereignty and federal recognition stems from the Lakes Treaty of 1864, and although federal recognition was terminated in 1954, it was restored to us in the Klamath Tribe Restoration Act of 1986. No act of Congress, Executive Order, or any constitution that has been used by any of the three tribes has dissolved the sovereignty of any of them or merged them into a single tribe.
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