THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MINING SUMMIT

Howard Johnson Plaza Anchorage
239 West Fourth Avenue

Anchorage Alaska, August 15-18, 2007

Two years ago, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and the Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) hosted the first gathering of the North American Indigenous Peoples Mining Summit in Edmonton Alberta. This year, the IEN is proud to be hosting the second convening of this important event.

We will be bringing together technical experts, people from mining impacted communities, and others to share their knowledge, stories, and expertise on how to best determine possible implications and responses to protect Indigenous Lands and Communities when the mining industry wants to locate a project that will impact the surrounding area and the natural and cultural resources present there. In other situations, there may be abandoned mines in your area that need closure and clean up. This year, some of the North Americas leading experts on mining impacts to water and the importance of cultural resource protection will be presenting their information in a series of plenary and workshop sessions. Other sessions include; empowering the voice of the native community, human, ecological, and cultural impacts of mineral and fossil fuel extraction, policy, including 1872 mining law reform, impacts of uranium mining, future generation guardianship, land use planning, coal/climate change and more.

Please not that the mining and energy companies are not invited to this meeting. A strategic decision was made two years ago, before the Edmonton conference, that it was important for Indigenous People and their invited guests to have a time for themselves to discuss matters of great importance related to the extractive industry and their impacts on our lands, water and culture. An important element of this meeting is the final morning when we strategize on how to best protect the land and all the great gifts of the land for this and future generations. While it is realized that this strategy initiated two years ago is not entirely problem free, it is our intent to once again dis-invite the mining and energy industry.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Howard Johnson hotel. Summit pre-registration is required. For information on this and other aspects of the second North American Indigenous Peoples Mining Summit, please call 218-751-4967 or email ienmining@igc.org.