Indigenous Peoples in International (Treaty) Diplomacy

Abstract

International diplomacy has traditionally been considered the exclusive prerogative of states, who engage with each other on matters of peace, conflict, and trade with an eye to national interests and global wellbeing. This is one of a series of works considering “Indigenous Diplomacy”—a practice in which Indigenous Peoples engage with states, as well as other Indigenous Peoples, groups, and individuals in bilateral and multilateral settings, informed by Indigenous values, to advance rights, relationships, and remedies, as well as peace and security. This Article examines one category of Indigenous Diplomacy, namely the diplomatic processes surrounding modern and contemporary international treaties. With respect to several treaties adopted by states in the 1960s and 1970s, Indigenous Peoples’ involvement has primarily been through interpretation and implementation, whereas in one brand-new treaty, adopted at the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2024, Indigenous Peoples have been involved at every step, including in negotiating and drafting. Through their engagement in treaty diplomacy, before, during, and after the adoption of international treaties, Indigenous Peoples are advancing their rights and interests, challenging the conventional wisdom that treaties are the purview of states, and advancing the practice of Indigenous Diplomacy.

About the Author

Council Tree Professor of Law and Director of the American Indian Law Program, University of Colorado Law School. For inspirations and insights, the author would like to acknowledge Jim Anaya, Linda Benally, Chief Ben Barnes, Judge Greg Bigler, Andrea Carmen, John Echohawk, Walter Echo-Hawk, Matthew Fletcher, Lola Garcia-Alix, Kim Gottschalk, Lorie Graham, Keith Harper, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., Honor Keeler, Sheryl Lightfoot, Fergus McKay, Keone Nakoa, Sue Noe, Michael Orona, Emiliano Salazar, Wenona Singel, Kim Teehee, Heidi Todacheene, Raina Thiele, Alexey Tsykarev, Angela Riley, Fawn Sharp, Geoffrey Roth, Jennifer Weddle, Marvin Weatherwax, Heather Whiteman Runs Him, and Chairman Peter Yucupicio. The author would also like to thank hosts and participants in a symposium entitled, Red Rising: The Shifting Legal Landscape of Tribal Sovereignty, February 8, 2024, co-hosted by the Native Nations Law & Policy Center at UCLA Law School, and a workshop entitled The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Work of UN Treaty Bodies: Progress So Far, hosted by the University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain, February 14–15, 2024.

By LRIRE