This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate

by Naomi Klein

As the Indigenous rights movement gains strength globally, huge advances are being made in recognizing the legitimacy of these claims. Most significant was the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007 after 143 member states voted in its favor (the four opposing votes—United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—would each, under domestic pressure, eventually endorse it as well). The declaration states that, “Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources.” And further that they have “the right to redress” for the lands that “have been confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior and informed consent.” Some countries have even taken the step of recognizing these rights in revised constitutions.