Nibutani Declaration

Over 600 indigenous people from Ainu Mosir (Hokkaido), Uchinanchu (Okinawa), the United States, Canada, Hawai’i, Guam, Australia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Norway, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Taiwan, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) gathered for the first time around a G8 Summit, to reflect on the issues addressed by the G8 and analyse how these relate to them. This is the declaration they agreed, based on the fundamental values and understandings of our place in the world which includes our reciprocal relationship with nature. The theme of the indigenous summit was Mawkopirka which means in Ainu “Be Happy,” and which underscores the Indigenous values and notions of well-being, and illustrates the good faith in which they approached this Summit and all the peoples gathered. The Declaration includes three main sections: Issues and concerns, 22 proposals to the G8, 11 proposals to themselves.