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New Human Rights Publication Focuses on Indigenous Women of the Americas

MONTREAL – Oct. 21, 2004 – As the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People comes to a close, a new publication from Rights & Democracy is underlining the many human rights challenges that continue to affect the lives of Indigenous women across the Americas.

Indigenous Women in the Americas is an interactive information kit that both encourages native women to share their struggles and stories and presents the various international legal options available to them for addressing human rights violations.

Produced in association with ENLACE– the Continential Network Of Indigenous Women – and Quebec Native Women Inc., the underlying goal of Indigenous Women in the Americas is to help bring the voices of native women into the mainstream of political discourse.

“Indigenous women have suffered from the double-marginalization of being both women and indigenous, which has led to a destructive cycle of poverty, neglect, violence and oppression,” said Jean-Louis Roy, President of Rights & Democracy. “Their voices must be heard and listened to by the international community, and this publication provides the tools to help make that possible.”

Indigenous Women of the Americas is not simply a passive information resource. It is an active tool that asks Indigenous women to develop it further with information about the situation in their countries and their relevant experiences. Women are encouraged to make the tool kit their own, to tailor it to their needs and experiences and share their views with the kit's creators, who can then share them with women in other indigenous communities throughout the Americas .

Mexico's Margarita Gutiérrez Romero, a founding member of ENLACE, said the information found in Indigenous Women of the Americas is an important step toward the full-participation of indigenous women in the decisions that affect them most.

“It is crucial that indigenous women be taken into account at all levels - internationally, nationally and and within their own communities,” she said. “International human rights norms, like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, are the means to this end and Indigenous women must have a say in their development.”