It was great to finally get to the UN permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, I have to thank Pamela Kraft of Tribal Link - and President Roberto Borrero of the United Confederation of Taino Peoples for that.

It was good that I had already spent 4 years in the OAS (Organization of American States) process trying to get a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas passed - but the USA & Canada government representatives (i'd call them 'saboteurs') are stonewalling the process every opportunity they get; so I had no illusions that by being able to read a statement at the UN I would somehow change the world...some seem to think that way.
I am sure some of what is read IS taken into consideration, but I honestly feel most of our interventions end up collecting dust in a basement somewhere; or being given 'special consideration' at the paper recyclers.
This does not mean I am in any way discouraged, on the contrary - I feel re-invigorated and renewed to continue with my efforts - and aim even higher. The greatest aspect of the UN experience for me was all the people I was able to meet and become friends with from all over the world, to hear their problems and think about ways I could be of help - even in some small way.
I realize the vital importance of us uniting among ourselves and embracing a true Indigenous Solidarity, forget ethnicity, race, religion, these are not important, we are all children of the same creator - and even the 'non-Indigenous' of today - had ancestors who were once Indigenous....every human being belonged to a tribe once if you go back far enough; some have just forgotten that fact - and it is our job to remind them.

I did not know about 4REAL and all the important work they are doing until I saw Yawanawa at the UN and was able to meet Sol Guy and Sharline and others from behind the scenes, what Chief Tashka has been able to achieve has been a recurring dream of mine for my own people since I was a teenager - and I cannot wait to show it to my people on Pakuri Territory Arawak Territory in Guyana.
Too many Indigenous People in Guyana are still living as imitation Europeans in brown skins, ashamed of their own Indigenous identity & culture - but 'proud' to live & look as European as possible - especially in attire.
I was born in the most urban and modern environment in the English speaking Caribbean - yet myself and my sons return to tribal lands in Guyana and feel proud to don body paint, wear our Werakas (loincloths) and go off from our semi-westernized villages to spend a few days in the jungle hunting and fishing, but to most others - you could not pay them enough to do that - so thorough has been the colonial & neo-colonial mental enslavement they have not yet liberated themselves from.

But before I do a 'Castro' and ramble on for hours - I would like to suggest to my Permanent Forum colleagues (the 3,000+ who registered this year) - that we first set our own houses & hearts in order before we attempt to speak with the one voice (that we should) at the UN, I was saddened to see more than a few petty squabbles among ourselves - over seating, over access to a computer, etc; you who were guilty of the selfish attitudes exhibited in those scenarios need to realize that you are exhibiting the same attitude of the colonizers you claim to resent so much.

All for your information and guidance,

Damon Gerard Corrie