A poem for Indigenous People’s Day, adapted from Articles 11 – 12.1 of The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, about the right of indigenous peoples to maintain their culture:
THE RIGHT TO MAINTAIN
THEIR CULTURE
Adapted from The United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples have
the right
To practice and revitalize
Their cultural traditions
and cultures.
This includes the right
To maintain, protect, and
develop
The past, present, and
future manifestations
Of their cultures, such as
Archaeological and
historical sites,
Artefacts, designs,
ceremonies,
Technologies, and visual
and performing
Arts and literature.
States shall provide
redress
With respect to cultural,
intellectual,
Religious, and spiritual
property
Taken without their free,
prior,
And informed consent,
Or in violation of their
laws,
Traditions, or customs.
Indigenous peoples have
the right
To practice, develop, and
teach
Their spiritual and
religious traditions;
The right to maintain,
protect
And have access in privacy
To their religious and
cultural sites;
The right to the use and
control
Of their ceremonial
objects;
And the right to the
repatriation
Of their human remains.
© by Nicholas Gordon
Audio and Video Music: Borderless.
By Aakash Gandhi. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.
To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/theri5.html. For more poems for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/indigenouspeoplesdaypoems.html .
