Berkeley City Forum Seeks to Honor Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Information provided by City of Berkeley—

The Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission will host a forum that will focus on aspects of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) that are beneficial to the local and surrounding communities. Articles of the Declaration include but are not limited to repatriation of tribal ancestral remains and the protection of and free access to sacred sites in the Bay Area.

Program areas on the forum agenda are:

• History of the Ohlone People of this area
• Protection of Sacred Sites
• Repatriation
• Social Change initiatives

Event:  City of Berkeley Forum on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People

Where: North Berkeley Senior Center:  Hearst at Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley

When:  Monday, April 7, 2014, 6:00pm until 8:00pm

The April 7 Berkeley UNDRIP Forum is designed to be educational for the Berkeley community and to bring these issues to the Peace and Justice Commission to create well-informed and effective solutions through dialogue and policy proposals to be presented to the Berkeley City Council. The forum is an introduction to many issues that the commission hopes to continue to address. We intend to hold future forums where elaboration into various topics can take place.

This forum is being hosted by the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, organized by the commission's Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Community Education. More info on the commission athttp://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/Commissions/Commissions__Peace_and_Justice_Commission_Homepage.aspx

A regular Peace and Justice Commission meeting will take place immediately following the forum. At that meeting, any proposals which have been placed on the commission agenda in advance may be voted on. Issues to be addressed may include sacred sites protection, repatriation, Ohlone history curriculum, international law, or other topics.

Public discussion has informally already begun on the facebook event wall for the Berkeley Forum: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples https://www.facebook.com/events/598673060211163/

Contact: Wendy Kenin 510-504-4937 greendoula@gmail.com