Bill Text: CA AJR42 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Indigenous peoples: declaration of rights.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-08-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 105, Statutes of 2014. [AJR42 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AJR42-Chaptered.html

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BILL NUMBER: AJR 42	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  105
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  AUGUST 11, 2014
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  AUGUST 4, 2014
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 5, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 2, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Williams
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)
   (Coauthor: Senator Monning)

                        MARCH 24, 2014

   Relative to indigenous peoples.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 42, Williams. Indigenous peoples: declaration of rights.
   This measure would express the Legislature's endorsement of the
principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. The measure would, among other things, also call
for increased awareness, sensitivity, and respect for issues of
sovereignty related to the heritage of Native Americans and
indigenous peoples.




   WHEREAS, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September
13, 2007, establishing a new systemic standard of recognition,
respect, and protection for the rights of indigenous peoples of the
world; and
   WHEREAS, The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples was approved by the National Latino Congreso on
January 31, 2010, in El Paso, Texas, and has been endorsed by
hundreds of Native American, Latino, and progressive community
organizations across this country; and
   WHEREAS, On November 5, 2009, at a historic summit in Washington,
D.C., hosted by President Barack Obama, Chairman Joe Kennedy from the
Timbisha Shoshone Tribe of the Western Shoshone Nation delivered a
message on behalf of the indigenous peoples and nations of North
America calling for immediate action by the President of the United
States to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples; and
   WHEREAS, In December 2010, the United States announced support for
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In announcing this support, President Obama stated: "The aspirations
it affirms, including the respect for the institutions and rich
cultures of native peoples, are ones we must always seek to
fulfill...  What matters far more than any resolution or declaration,
are actions to match those words." The United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples addresses indigenous peoples'
rights to maintain culture and traditions (Article 11); to maintain
religious traditions, customs, and ceremonies (Article 12); to
participate in decision making in matters that would affect their
rights (Article 18); and to maintain spiritual connections to
traditionally owned lands (Article 25); and
   WHEREAS, As of June 2013, the federal Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (ACHP) approved the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. ACHP will now incorporate the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the review
process of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act;
and
   WHEREAS, The "Doctrine of Discovery," emanating from the European
colonization after 1492 of the continents later to be known as the
Americas, has had profound and lasting negative effects on the
cultures and populations of the indigenous peoples and nations of the
Americas; and
   WHEREAS, Although jurisdiction over indigenous affairs resides
with the federal government, state governments exercise authority in
areas that affect the indigenous peoples within the state. As such,
state governments should be aware of the principles outlined in the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and
consider these principles in the various decisions of state
authorities; and
   WHEREAS, This resolution is not intended to create, and does not
create, any rights or benefits, whether substantive or procedural, or
enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California or
its agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees, or any
other person; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of California expresses its
endorsement of the principles of the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly, and recognizes the call for increased awareness,
sensitivity, and respect for issues of sovereignty, sacred and
historic sites and traditions, and other vital aspects of the
heritage of Native Americans and indigenous peoples implicit in those
principles, notwithstanding the nonbinding nature of the
declaration; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President, Vice President, and Attorney
General of the United States, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator
and Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States, the Legal Adviser to the United States Department of State,
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Chair of
the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations, and the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.