Geneva, Switzerland

RE: Submission to the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples

Dear Mr Chairman,

My name is Adelard Blackman, and I am here as a Special Emissary for Chief Elmer Campbell and the people of the Buffalo River Dene Nation from northern Saskatchewan. We are called ,,Dene Sulene", a people part on an aboriginal population spread throughout the northern regions of Canada.

1 wish to make a statement on Globalisation and its impact on the Buffalo River Dene Nation. The Dene Nation comprises over one million square miles of traditional territory and within our territory we have oil, gas, timber, platinum, uranium, diamonds and water.

The multinational corporations have invaded our territory under the protection of the provincial and Canadian government to exploit the resources within our territory.

Every year the multinational corporations along with the Canadian government bring in billions upon billions of dollars, yet our people are left out of this process and nothing has been brought back to our community as we continue to suffer from severe unemployment rates, health care issues and very high death rates.

The Canadian government and multinational corporations are using legislation and policies to extinguish our treaty rights and take control or our natural territories and resources. The impact of globalisation leads them to extinguish our treaty rights and unilaterally pass legislation without our peoples free and prior consent.

Our elders know the seriousness of our situation. They realise that if the present conditions continue that we, as recognised Treaty Peoples, will cease to be recognised as such leading to our extinction as Treaty Indians within the next fifty years.

The elders have said that we need to do something today to protect future generations. All we have left today is that we must bring this fact to the attention of the International community and that the United Nations and other International Bodies understand the gravity of our situation. We need help.

Our young people are still dying today in the name of Globalisation. lt is very difficult when our young people at home have no hope for the future. We have begun to take steps and rectify the problems that we face today. With this in mind we made this Declaration at the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights:

,,We, the Buffalo River Dene Nation, under international law, in the signing of Treaty #10, declare that we are a Sovereign Nation within a Nation, and that the ,,Catarat/Sylvestre vs the Queen" case was not properly dealt with at the Supreme Court of Canada. Therefore we will take action as the Buffalo River Dene Nation and hereby give notice to the Canadian Government and multinational corporations within our territories that we intend to take our case before the World Court at The Hague, Netherlands, for Human Rights violations in regards to the loss of our Treaty rights".

In conclusion Mr. Chairperson, it is very sad in today's world that we still have to deal with Human Rights violations in regards to our peoples. There has to be a way towards a balance of all interests between the Canadian government, multinational corporations and we the people of the Buffalo River Dene Nation.

There is an understanding that Globalisation will work in a positive manner if we can learn to join hands in this process instead of continuing a one sided progression based on historical colonialist attitudes and values.

The Canadian Government and multinational corporations must be taken to task for the wrongs that they are doing to our people today. It has to stop!

We know our history and we know that our future generations must be protected. We will not stop our struggle until the international community understands that the Indigenous Peoples of the world are coming together in unity and strength to seek justice for hundreds of years of injustice.

This article is simply a stepping stone to justice for all.

Our prayers are with you all, Ma Cee Chou