By Rawiri Taonui

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007). Indigenous Peoples have come a long way. Our individual struggles coalesced during the 1970s in the Indigenous-initiated World Council of Indigenous Peoples. A decade of consultation and negotiation through the United Nations culminated in a first draft. Some of those who had worked on the draft lost their lives in struggles at home.

“What seed might we plant together today that could make the most difference to the future of the Indigenous Peoples’ Water Summit?” 26-year-old Thorne LaPointe asked a group of about 50 Indigenous youth, elders, and non-Indigenous supporters at the inaugural Mni Ki Wakan: World Indigenous Peoples’ Decade of Water Summit.