Wayfinders Circle Wayfinders Circle Members Stand Together at U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

For 25 years, Indigenous Peoples from across the globe have convened at the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). The UNPFII is a high-level advisory body mandated to discuss Indigenous economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights.

The statements Indigenous Peoples deliver are a key aspect of the Forum. Interventions, as they are more formally known, allow Indigenous Peoples to express important issues affecting their peoples and home territories. Often, these three-minute statements are a call to U.N. Member States to respect Indigenous rights while also urging fellow Indigenous Peoples to unite in defending them. 

This year, for the first time in the Wayfinders Circle’s five-year history, members delivered a powerful collective statement regarding Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) – especially at a time when Indigenous wisdom can help heal the most perilous of our planet’s crises.

“The health of our communities is interconnected with the health of our territories,” said Maria Martin (Heiltsuk Nation) before a room of hundreds. 

The Wayfinders at the UNPFII represented:

• Blackfoot Confederacy (U.S. and Canada)
• Dayak Iban People of Sungai Utik (Indonesia)
• Heiltsuk Nation (Canada)
• Sámiid Riikkasearvi (Sweden)

Crafting a Powerful Call: ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’

The Wayfinders at the UNPFII carefully drafted a statement, each weighing in on the importance of Free, Prior and Informed Consent, on behalf of the members in attendance. They were joined by members of the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners (WUISP), who are conveners of the Wayfinders Circle along with the Pawanka Fund and Nia Tero. As a cornerstone of the seminal U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), FPIC refers to Indigenous Peoples’ right to consent to or refuse projects in their territories and be part of decision-making processes that affect them. 

She added, “We respectfully urge all governments to move beyond symbolic endorsement and toward the full implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent as outlined in the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. True progress for Indigenous Peoples means denouncing and addressing the colonial legal logic and frameworks that Member States employ to their benefit but at the cost of Indigenous rights.”

It was Martin’s first time attending the Forum. She said sharing the Wayfinders Circle intervention was a great honor.

“To be called upon to deliver such a strong statement around Free, Prior and Informed Consent for the Wayfinders members was something that will always stay with me,” she said. “I found that the nervousness I held prior turned into strength. We need to stay united in Wayfinders and really take a position, a united position, in ‘nothing about us without us.’”

Spotlighting Indigenous Knowledge at Wayfinders Circle Events

Wayfinders Circle members also participated in other events throughout the two-week gathering. In addition, Wayfinders Circle members led important side events and participated in the Indigenous Peacebuilding Summit, human rights training and UNPFII cultural exchange. Some of these highlights include:

• ‘In Conversation: Indigenous Women on Health, Healing and Conflict’
  This hour-long livestreamed event featured the impactful perspectives of Indigenous women representing the reindeer communities of Sápmi, the plains and prairies of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the coastal lands and waters of the Heiltsuk Nation and the Seneca Peoples from what is today known as New York State. 

  This discussion delved into how Indigenous women view connections between the health of Indigenous Peoples and territories. It included moments of heartfelt and vulnerable candor that truly demonstrated the universality of some aspects of the Indigenous experience across continents.
   

• ‘Indigenous Wayfinding in Times of Crisis’ side event
  Another key event held by the Wayfinders Circle focused on how Indigenous Peoples draw on ancestral knowledge to guide them through crises. With each of the four Wayfinders Circle communities in attendance at the UNPFII presenting, attendees heard more about some of the historic and current struggles they face as Indigenous Peoples as well as the hopes they have for the future.
  
  This event highlighted Indigenous Peoples’ understanding of health as a holistic balance—encompassing individual and collective wellbeing, the relationship with Mother Earth, the guidance of ancestors, and the responsibilities toward future generations.
   
• Origins Art exhibit on Indigenous Peoples during International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
  The Wayfinders Circle joined in supporting WUISP’s Origins Fellows’ exhibition of art that explored the intersection of Indigenous Peoples and the celebration of 2026 as the U.N.’s International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
  
  Featuring pieces from Asia and Africa, this collection of art was displayed in the U.N. Visitors Center, where passersby from across the globe can learn more about nomadic and pastoralist Indigenous Peoples. Through felt, horsehair, wood, leather, and sound, the pieces are representations of how Indigenous knowledge – carried across generations and in relationship with animals and territory – is often grounded in spiritual and cosmological responsibility to Mother Earth. These works are a celebration of Indigenous artistry that has been passed down over generations among nomadic and pastoral peoples.
   
• Other cultural and knowledge exchanges
  Wayfinders Circle members also presented at other key UNPFII events. Herkulanus Sutomo Manna (Dayak Iban People of Sungai Utik, Indonesia) shared a traditional dance at the UNPFII Cultural Night among hundreds of Indigenous Peoples and allies. Some also participated in a Nia Tero training about advancing Indigenous rights in global policy forums. Others also presented and participated in an Indigenous Peacebuilding Summit that was aimed at expanding the inclusion of Indigenous approaches to peacebuilding in times of global conflict and ecological crisis.

The Importance of Indigenous Unity Beyond UNPFII

Looking back on their time together at the Forum, a resounding theme among the Wayfinders was that the struggles faced by Indigenous Peoples worldwide were similar and there was a sense of community in knowing they were not alone.

“I think right here with this global Indigenous forum, we have such a common thread as Indigenous People,” said Treffrey Deerfoot (Blackfoot). “We need to share what's working. We're struggling with housing. We're struggling with people coming in and taking resources out of our lands.”

He added, “You know, it just goes on and on. …I think we're at a place where we need to stand up and say enough is enough.”

"We are talking about an entire movement, basically the creative use that is really focused on the revival of their heritage and the spiritual and cultural core of their people."