Mission Statement:
The Council has adopted the Elders Summit Declarations as our guiding principles.

Elders Declaration: Kindling a Fire
Elders from North, South and Central America gathered on Haudenosaunee territory for six days to share our achievements and future prospects on peace and unity. We reflected on the effects of historical trauma and the path towards decolonization for Indigenous Peoples of the America’s. A common sense of history binds us while oral traditions, lived experiences, gathered knowledge and re-found wisdom build bridges among us. Our heart rests on our kinship with one another and with all beings of the universe and the cosmos. Our spirits are no longer homeless. We are grounded on Mother Earth. We are connected to and responsible for those who are here, those who are yet to come and those who have been. Our authority flows from these sources. They set the nature, direction and pace of action. We will set the agenda, we will move it forward, we will do it now and we will monitor and measure its progress. Our collective minds and hearts hereby declare the following:

Women Give Life:
Violence against Indigenous women must cease.
Women are the mothers of our nations and their authority must be recognized within and outside Indigenous nations.

Living Treaties Make Healthy Nations:
Historical treaties must be recognized and interpreted from our perspective.
Nationhood is ours to keep and exercise.
International treaties must secure our future and that of future generations.

Education is a Right:
It must be made available to everyone.
It must include our own languages and the resources to support this goal.
It must include traditional teaching practices, cultural practices and history from our perspective.

Tradition Must Lead:
Indigenous leaders who hold traditional values, beliefs and cultures must be recognized and respected as leaders in their own right and by the world.

Roots run deeply:
Indigenous forms of determining who our people are must be acknowledged.
Assimilation policies and practices being forced on our people must stop.

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