Haudenosaunee mark 100th anniversary of Deskaheh's attempt to speak to League of Nations
CBC
A hundred years ago, Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) chief Deskaheh travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, to defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
He was prevented from speaking to the League of Nations — the predecessor of the United Nations — and now a century later, his successors continue the fight for recognition.
"As Deskaheh, I will not address the United Nations until the Haudenosaunee is recognized as a government," said Deskaheh Steve Jacobs last week to the United Nations' 16th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Deskaheh is a title — one of 50 chieftains in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, known historically as the Six Nations or Iroquois Confederacy. Jacobs is the current holder of the title, and was a part of a 20-member delegation from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in Geneva to commemorate his predecessor's journey.
In 1923, Deskaheh Levi General was sent as a spokesperson to Geneva to petition the League of Nations after exhausting all avenues for justice in Canada.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy was concerned about Canada's encroachments on the authority of the Haudenosaunee government, loss of land along the Haldimand tract, and the rights of Haudenosaunee women and children.
However, Deskaheh was never allowed to speak at the League of Nations and his petition sparked a catalyst for Indigenous sovereignty rights at the international level. The United Nations replaced the League of Nations in 1945.
"He has become a symbol," said Kenneth Deer, a member of the Haudenosaunee external relations committee from Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal.
"The name Deskaheh has been used, has been spoken in the UN for years."
Today, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is still unable to address the United Nations as a government. The confederacy, along with other Indigenous nations, is only eligible to address the UN as a non-governmental organization.
"It's been a struggle," said Deer.
"There has been some movement by the United Nations, but not enough."
Deer sits on a committee for enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the UN that has been lobbying states to create a special status that recognizes Indigenous Peoples as governments so that they can participate at a high level in the UN.
"We won't have a right to vote, only members have that, but we will be able to influence resolutions, speak on the floor, or take part in committee work," said Deer.
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