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Native Americans on the Frontline of Environmental Protection

Task Force 2018

Task Force Report 2018: A Review of Hemp as a Sustainable Agricultural Commodity

Evaluator

Winona LaDuke

Executive Director, Honor the Earth

Faculty Adviser

Patrick Christie

Patrick Christie

Professor

Native Americans in North America, who enjoy territorial sovereignty on their lands, are at the frontlines of environmental protection. Their efforts safeguard their rights, culture and livelihoods, as well as those of non-Native Americans. The policies, social movements, and conflicts are inherently international in nature. Native American tribes are frequently sovereign nations engaged in struggles that cross national boundaries and against the aspirations of multi-national corporations wishing to extract and transport valuable commodities, such as petroleum, across national boundaries and sovereign tribal lands. International protocols call for universal human rights and respect for indigenous people’s rights. This task force will explore these issues with a focus on how Native Americans occupy an important role in ensuring sustainability, confronting actors and government policies that undermine their rights, and forming coalitions involving non-Native Americans. Students will collaborate with and report to a Native American leader as their task force external evaluator.

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