Basic Call to Consciousness

Basic Call to Consciousness is a compelling critique of Western Culture and an eloquent text on the rights of Indigenous nations. New contributions by John Mohawk, Chief Oren Lyons, and Jose Barreiro provide an added depth and continuity to this revised edition.

In 1977 a conference on Discrimination Against the Indigenous Populations of the Americas was hosted by the Non-Governmental Organizations of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland in 1977. Included here are the three position papers that were delivered to the UN by leaders of the Haudenosaunee, or Six Nation Iroquois. These position papers, the first authentic analysis of the modern world ever committed to writing by an official body of Native people, called for fundamental changes in the policies of developed nations and an end to the destruction of the natural world.

John Mohawk introduces the events that transpired prior to the trip to UN. Chief Oren Lyons gives an overview on the struggle for self-determination before and since the Geneva meetings. And an afterword by Jose Barreiro looks to a new era of possibility for Native nations.

This edition with its expanded end notes, index, and bibliography section, is a valuable resource as a college textbook for classes in history, sociology, religion, and anthropology.

Not many books portray the heart and courage of so many people in one volume. In a compelling and impassioned voice, Basic Call to Consciousness speaks for the basic rights of humankind and all our relations.

Photos, illustrations