Ceremony and Solidarity on 50th anniversary of orca's captivity

September 24, 2020

Lummi tribal members have traveled across the country to hold ceremony in Miami for the orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) on the 50th anniversary of her captivity at the Seaquarium. On September 24, a  live-streamed virtual event brought global Indigenous voices together with those from the worlds of education, Western science, and law, all standing in solidarity with Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut.

“There’s a lot of hurt in the world right now,” said Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley), one of the Lummi contingent. “Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut is a symbol of hurt in the past, and hope for healing in the future. She’s showing us how ancestral teachings guide us to healing actions.  Upholding our Indigenous rights is good for everybody, because protecting the earth is good for everybody.”

 The event featured ceremonies held by Lummi and Seminole members for Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, as well as ceremonies from Lake Baikal; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; a shaman from Okhon Island; a guardian of the Kanykei bulagy sacred spring, the head of the shaman's union of Mongolia; a guardian of the sacred Irbistuu mountain; Thura children in Nepal; and a shaman in Tuva. A  Statement of Solidarity from International Indigenous Leaders was launched, and leaders of Tribes, First Nation, and Indigenous organizations were invited to sign on.  It has already gathered signatures from Maori in New Zealand, Cowichan in British Columbia, Nez Perce in Idaho, Protectors of the Salish Sea, and Ponca Nation in Oklahoma.

“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenuat is part of our Salish Sea family. Our Lummi Nation passed a motion in 2017 to support work to bring her home. The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians then passed a Resolution to confirm the same. Tah-Mahs and I are simply carrying on the work we have been called to do. Estitem-sen (we’re trying our best). It is our Xa xalh Xechning (sacred obligation),” said Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Morris).

The Lummi term for orca is qwe’lhol’mechen, which means “our relations under the water.” Squil-le-he-le  and Tah-Mahs  are invoking their legal rights, as well as their spiritual, cultural, and kinship rights, in their call to bring their relation, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, home to the Salish Sea. They are supported in their work by the Earth Law Center, the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Northwest Indian College.  Florida International University's Global Indigenous Forum and  Samuel Tommie of the Seminole Tribe of Florida joined Tah-Mahs and Squil-le-he-le in Miami for the event.

“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenuat is a sacred family member to the Lummi people, and so the Miami Seaquarium’s failure to return her to the Salish Sea runs afoul of their Indigenous rights,” said Grant Wilson, Executive Director & Directing Attorney of Earth Law Center, which represents Tah-Mahs and Squil-le-he-le. “This campaign seeks justice for both endangered Southern Resident orcas and neglected Indigenous voices.”

“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut is an amazing whale,” said Jeff Foster, of the Whale Sanctuary Project, who has helped to end the captivity of a number of cetaceans internationally. “We are providing our technical expertise to help the Lummi bring her home. The Lummi ancestral knowledge of what is best for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, her family, and the Salish Sea, can be supported by science so that this effort is done in the most responsible way possible.”

The general public was invited to sign on to a petition as well as to hold and share their own ceremonies for Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut.

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Media contact: Julie Trimingham, 360-305-5880

Michelle Bender, Earth Law Center, mbender@earthlaw.org

Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut is held captive at Miami Seaquarium, which is owned by Palace Entertainment, Parques Reunidos, and EQT.

The event was recorded and is viewable at : https://www.facebook.com/OurSacredSea

Coalition Submits Amicus Brief Urging Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to Make Landmark Rights of Nature Ruling in Los Cedros Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 10, 2020

Contacts:
Constanza Prieto Figelist (cpfigelist@earthlaw.org, 202-621-3877)
Grant Wilson (gwilson@earthlaw.org, 510-566-1063)

New York, NY: Last week, a coalition of organizations submitted an amicus brief to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, the highest court in Ecuador, calling for a robust application of the Rights of Nature in order to save the Los Cedros Protected Forest, an immensely biodiverse Andean cloud forest in Ecuador. Los Cedros is under threat from recent mining concessions to state mining company ENAMI that cover two-thirds of the reserve. Several species are at risk of extinction due from mining operations. 

In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to constitutionally recognize the “Rights of Nature,” granting basic rights to Nature, just as humans possess rights. The case of Los Cedros Rainforest will be the first case specific to the Rights of Nature that reaches the Constitutional Court.

“Ecuador has inspired a global movement to recognize Nature’s rights, but now it must become effective in practice to protect and restore ecosystems,” said Constanza Prieto Figelist, Latin American Legal Lead at Earth Law Center. “Our amicus brief offers a blueprint for the strong and practical enforcement of the Rights of Nature.”

The amicus brief makes several requests. First, it calls for fully upholding the rights of the Los Cedros Rainforest with an emphasis on its right to restoration to repair the damages Los Cedros already suffered from ENAMI. Second, it calls for the application of rights specific to certain ecosystems—e.g., rivers flowing within Los Cedros have river rights, forests have forest rights, and so forth, each with their own standards. Third, it calls for the appointment of independent legal guardians for Nature. Finally, it calls for upholding human environmental rights and rights of future generations.

Globally, Rights of Nature is now recognized to some extent in over a dozen countries. This includes the United States, where a handful of Native American tribes and many local communities have passed Rights of Nature laws, declarations, and resolutions. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 global biodiversity framework also recently promoted the Rights of Nature in its updated draft, which is up for adoption in 2021.

The amicus brief was submitted jointly by Earth Law Center, the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, and the Center for Biological Diversity in collaboration with International Rivers and the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. A network of law school professors sign the amicus brief in support, as well. 

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Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) is a 501c3 organization that works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. They recently released the first-ever law school coursebook on “Earth law,” which is an emerging body of ecocentric law, including the Rights of Nature.

Convention on Biodiversity Advances the Rights of Nature in Proposed Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 2, 2020

Contacts:      
Grant Wilson, Earth Law Center (gwilson@earthlaw.org, +1-510-566-1063)
Pella Thiel, Rights of Nature Sweden (pella.thiel@endecocide.se, +46-73-658 98 84)
Doris Ragettli, Rights of Mother Earth (doris@rightsofmotherEarth.com, +41-79-775-7059
Hana Begovic, Earth Advocacy Youth (hanabegovic1@gmail.com)

Montreal, Canada—The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has become the first international environmental treaty proposing to advance the Rights of Nature. This milestone occurred in the updated “zero draft” for a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will be up for adoption during the 15th meeting of the “Conference of the Parties” (COP) to the CBD in 2021 in Kunming, China. 

Specifically, the zero draft added the following approach to implement the framework: "Consider and recognize, where appropriate, the rights of nature.”

“We hope this important milestone will inspire State parties to join the growing number of governments worldwide that recognize and enforce the Rights of Nature, while also giving Nature a stronger voice within the Convention on Biological Diversity,” said Ilana Platkiewicz, an Environmental Law Associate at Earth Law Center.

“Recognizing the Rights of Nature makes a respectful relationship between humans and Nature possible. This is the transformative policy action the post-2020 framework needs to fulfill its goals and protect biodiversity,” said Pella Thiel, Coordinator of Rights of Nature Sweden.

Parties to the CBD established open-ended working groups on the post-2020 biodiversity framework in November 2018 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with the goal of creating an ambitious plan to transform society’s relationship with biodiversity and to ensure that, by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled.  

On January 13, 2020, the CBD Secretariat published a “zero draft” of the post-2020 global biodiversity that did not make reference to the Rights of Nature. In the months that followed, a coalition of organizations—led by Rights of Mother Earth, Earth Law Center, Rights of Nature Sweden, and Earth Advocacy Youth—made submissions advocating for Rights of Nature to be included. On August 17, 2020, the Secretariat released an updated zero draft highlighting the Rights of Nature as a new “enabling condition” of the post-2020 framework.

“Recognizing the Rights of Nature in the biodiversity convention is a very important component and a milestone for the protection of the natural environment. We hope it will support our endeavor for Nature to be seen and treated as a rights-bearing entity in all national legal systems, with intrinsic rights to exist and flourish, irrespective of its use and value to humans,” said Doris Ragettli, co-founder of Rights of Mother Earth. 

“Youth from all around the world are at the forefront of advancing counter norms such as the Rights of Nature, as they realize that ‘business as usual’ is not an option for them nor the Earth system as a whole. We are very happy to be a part of this important work for the inclusion of Rights of Nature into the Post-2020 framework,” said Hana Begovic, Director and Coordinator of Earth Advocacy Youth.

In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to constitutionally recognize the “Rights of Nature,” thereby granting basic rights to Nature, just as humans possess rights. Globally, Rights of Nature is now recognized to some extent in over a dozen countries, including nationally in Bolivia, in several Mexican states, and at the local and tribal level in the United States.

A growing number of unique ecosystems are also being recognized as subjects of rights. These include the Whanganui River in New Zealand per a treaty agreement and eight rivers or river basins in Colombia after a series of landmark court decisions. Many environmental advocates believe the Rights of Nature movement could be the turning point in the global effort to restore Nature to health, which they argue is impossible so long as Nature is treated as mere human property under the law instead of having its own voice and rights in governance.

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Earth Law Center (www.earthlawcenter.org) is a 501(c)(3) organization that works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive, and evolve. This includes advancing the inherent rights of rivers through initiatives with local partners to secure rights recognition.

Rights of Nature Sweden (www.naturensrattigheter.se) is working with Rights of Nature and Earth jurisprudence as systemic tools for the transition to a society in harmony with nature. We arrange the Earth Rights Conference as a platform for these ideas.

Rights of Mother Earth is a global movement campaign for the adoption of a Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth by the United Nations, to complement the Human Rights Declaration. You can sign and share the petition at: www.RightsofMotherEarth.com

Earth Advocacy Youth (https://www.earthadvocacy-youth.org) is a coalition of creative, daring, and skilled young professionals working to identify and apply bold ecocentric solutions and practices through youth-led policy, education and legal action.

Read the joint brief advocating for the Rights of Nature and submitted to the CBD by the above parties here: https://www.earthlawcenter.org/s/CBD-Rights-of-Nature.pdf