DRAFT AGENDA

NORTH AMERICAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MINING SUMMIT

Providence Renewal Center
3005 119th Street
EDMONTON, ALBERTA
JULY 27-30, 2005

The North American Indigenous Mining Summit will bring Indigenous Peoples together from throughout North America to share their stories, strategies, and solutions about how the mining industry has impacted their communities. Throughout the continent, Tribal governments and Indigenous community members are seeking just resolution to mining projects that are in the proposal stage through abandoned mines. This summit will also seek to find problem solving methods and solutions to mining projects that adversely affect the land, air, and water as well and the Indigenous Peoples who rely upon these things. Technical experts will be on hand to lead panel discussions and answer questions about the processes and impacts of hard-rock metallic, uranium, diamond and coal mining. Indigenous community members will also have panel discussions about the cultural and ecological effects that mining projects have had on their communities.

The Summit is being organized and hosted by the Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) and the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). WMAN addresses mining’s impacts through the following mission: 1) to protect land, air, water, wildlife, people, and local communities from irresponsible hard rock mining proposals and 2) to reform government policy and corporate practices. WMAN builds the capacity of mining activists and organizations to respond more effectively to challenges and opportunities associated with hard rock mining. IEN is a network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions. For more information, visit www.wman-info.org or www.ienearth.org.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005
5:00 PM Conference registration begins.  
6:00 PM Light refreshments  
7:00 PM

Keynote Address: Mining, Human Rights, and the Natural World Responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples. Andrea Carmen, Executive Director, International Indian Treaty Council.

Building North - South Solidarity to Defend Our Communities; A Report From Guatemala, Francisco Cali Tzay (Maya Kaqchikel), Guatemala Representative to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

  
8:15 - 9:15 PM Reception and social hour.  
Thursday, July 28, 2005
7:30 - 8:30 AM Registration opens
Continental breakfast served 		 
8:30 - 9:00 AM Welcome - Twa-le Abrahamson, Shawl Society, WA; and local Tribal Representative Invocation - TBA Conference Overview - Enei Begaye/Robert Shimek  
9:00 - 10:30 AM Plenary Panel discussion: The science and environmental impacts of hard rock, coal and uranium mining. A summary overview.
Panelists: Dave Chambers, Enei Begaye, Paul Robinson.		  
10:30 - 10:45 AM Break  
10:45 - 12:15 PM Plenary Panel Discussions; Social, cultural, and economic impacts of hard rock, coal and uranium mining in Indigenous communities.
Panelists: Manny Pino, Arizona; Laura Calmwind, Ontario; Florence Catholique, Northwest Territories 		 
12:15-1:30 PM Lunch  
1:30 - 3:00 PM Concurrent workshops
  1. Coal Mine Operations
    Presenters: Moderator--Enei Begaye, Black Mesa Water Coalition Wahaleah Johns, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Norman Benali, Citizens Coal Council, Canadian Representative TBA
  2. Uranium Mine Operations
    Presenters: Isadore Day, Serpent River First Nations, Ontario; Paul Robinson, Southwest Research and Information Center, New Mexico; Lynnea Smith, Eastern Navaho Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), New Mexico
  3. MEND Workshop PART 1
    Canada’s Mine Effluent Neutral Drainage     (MEND) group. Best practices for predicting and managing Acid Mine Drainage at each stage from mine exploration through closure.
    Presenters: Gilles Tremblay, Bill Price
  
3:00 - 3:15 PM Break  
3:15 - 5:00 PM

Concurrent workshops

  1. Before the Mine Opens: Two Profiles in Resistance
    Presenters: Bobby Andrew, Pebble Mine; Alaska; Sandra Jack or spokesperson, Taku River Tlingit, British Columbia
  2. MEND Part 2: Best practices for Acid Mine Drainage from mine exploration through closure. Community perspectives.
    Presenter: Dave Chambers, Center for Science in Public Participation, Bozeman, MT
  3. U.S. and Canadian Mining Law and its Impacts on Tribal Lands and Resources.
    Panelists: Joan Kuyek, Director, MiningWatch Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; Kim Craven, J.D., L.L.M. Candidate, Indigenous Law and Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson
  
6:00 PM Dinner  
7:30 PM Video: Homeland, 4 Stories of Native Action, Others TBA  
Friday, July 29, 2005
7:30 - 8:30 AM Registration opens and breakfast served  
8:30 - 9:00 AM Invocation, welcoming, and announcements
Laura Calmwind, Twa-le Abrahamson 		 
9:00 - 10:30 AM Concurrent Workshops
  1. Mine closure and cleanup: Tales from the dark side;
    Christopher Sewall, Western Shoshone Defense Project; Earl Hatley, Tar Creek, Oklahoma; Isadore Day, Serpent River First Nations, Ontario
  2. Mine reclamation and reclamation bonding
    Presenter: Dave Chambers, Center for Science in Public Participation, Bozeman, MT
  3. Mercury and Mining
    Panelists: Bonnie Gestring, EARTHWORKS, Missoula, MT; Sherri Norris, International Indian Treaty Council, California Paul Blom, Carrier Sekani First Nations, British Columbia
 
10:30 - 10:45 PM Break  
10:45 - 12:15 PM Concurrent workshops
  1. Tribal Consultation
    Panelists: Tansey Smith, Tribal-State Liaison, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection; Laura Calmwind, Co-Chair, MiningWatch; Canada, Sandra Jack, Taku River Tlingit First Nations, British Columbia

    2. 2. Fundraising: Radical Business. Helping Conscious Folks Make Money.
    Presenter: Tad Hargrave, Edmonton, Alberta

    3. Corporate Engagement
    Panelists: Simon Billenness, Oxfam America, Boston, MA; Kristi Begay, Western Shoshone, Nevada

  
12:15 - 1:15 PM Lunch  
1:15 - 2:15 PM Plenary panel: Success stories
Turning the Tide with Investors, Lydia Olympic, Alaska; Bernice Lalo, Kitty Litter Mine, Nevada; Navaho Uranium Mining Moratorium, ENDAUM.		  
2:15 - 3:15 PM Full Group Session
This session is about how do we support each other and beginning to identify needs. What are our needs and how do we achieve them? This plenary session is designed to set the venue for getting ourselves organized.
Shifting gears, this is where we talk to each other, where do we go from here? What do we deliver to WMAN, IEN, and others in regards to the type of support that is needed? How are mining projects affecting our Indigenous communities? What do we tell policy makers, regulators, and other decision makers about the state of our Land, Water, and People, and the relationships we must take care of? This is your speak-out session.
Deliver format for breakout groups.
Presenters and facilitators: Robert Shimek IEN, Enei Begaye, IEN Recorder: Sarah Keeney, WMAN
 
3:15 - 3:30 PM Break  
3:30 - 5:30 PM Breakout groups: hard rock, coal, uranium, (others if needed) to identify needs, develop working groups, resolutions, and position statements.
Breakout groups facilitators: Enei Begaye, Coal, Twa-le Abrahamson, Uranium, Robert Shimek, Hardrock		  
6:00 PM Dinner  
7:30 PM Talent show
Tad Hargrave Magic Show and others. Come prepared to demonstrate your talents to the rest of the Summit participants. A much deserved evening of fun and laughter.		  
Saturday, July 30, 2005
7:30 - 8:30 AM Continental breakfast  
8:30 - 9:00 AM Welcome
Invocation Announcements, Twa-le Abrahamson, SHAWL Society 		 
9:00 - 10:00 AM Power Mapping Exercise
Facilitator: Enei Begaye, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Arizona; Wahaleah Johns, Sage Council, New Mexico 		 
10:00 - 10:15 AM Break  
10:15 - 12:30 AM How do we get what we want? Hard rock, coal, uranium and other workgroups report back and present outcomes. Adoption of Position Statements, Resolutions
Facilitators: Enei Begaye (IEN), Robert Shimek (IEN), Twa-le Abrahamson (SHAWL)		  
12:30 - 1:45 Closing, Lunch