The Right to Maintain Their Culture
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.
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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 .
