We, the Cree people knowing that the Creator placed us here on Mother Earth as sovereign nations and seeking to live in peace, freedom and prosperity with all humanity in accordance with our own traditional laws are united in our sacred relationship with the land, air, water and resources of our traditional territories. We are united by common origin and history, aspiration and experience, and we are brothers and sisters, leaders and warriors of our nations.
We the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee and the Tataskweyak Cree Nation of Manitoba meeting on Eeyou Istchee make the following declaration:
Since time immemorial, the lands that we live on known as Eeyou Istchee and Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Manitoba have been and continue to be the traditional sacred home of our nations
As Cree Nations with our own distinct identities, culture, language and traditions, we have also been guided by many common purposes and beliefs, which have been shaped by many common experiences;
We have all retained the inherent right to self-determination. In shaping our own destinies, we will remain faithful to the time honoured traditions of our ancestors and we will work to secure the greatest possible freedom, dignity and prosperity for our people;
As Cree Nations, we live in harmony with our environment and cherish and protect our traditional homelands;
We share a belief that individuals and peoples must address each other in a spirit of respect and understanding;
We have all experienced outside encroachment upon our traditional homelands and we have created new relationships to coexist with other peoples and cultures in peace;
While other nations and peoples have drawn boundaries between our lands, the kinship and connection among our people will never be severed by paper, politics or imagination;
We hereby resolve to reaffirm and to strengthen those bonds of mutual respect, cooperation and affection we have known. As friends and allies, we as United Cree Nations go forward with greater strength and wisdom in our interactions with other governments in our regions and in our world.
In the traditional lands of the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee in the spring of 2007, the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee and the Tataskweyak Cree Nation declare this statement of unity, understanding and kinship.
We affirm our commitments to honour our people by representing them in a constitutional and democratic manner.
We encourage our organizations to work cooperatively to inform, assist, and support each other in the areas of common concern, including;
Achieving the recognition, protection, and implementation of the existing legal and political rights of our nations, including those founded in our own national laws, the laws of Canada and in the laws of the wider international community;
Promoting the practice and preservation of our spiritual and cultural expressions;
Supporting the education of our peoples in our ways of life as well as in other forms of knowledge of humankind;
Raising our children in the traditions of our peoples and protecting their integral connections with their families, communities and nations;
Advancing the economic and social well being of the members of our nations while preserving our traditions of sharing and social justice;
Our political and administrative organizations are encouraged to work beyond the matters enumerated in this declaration. These organizations are encouraged to focus their collective efforts towards the advancement of the principles and spirit upon which this declaration is made. These organizations can facilitate specific bilateral agreements in accordance with their respective nation’s constitutions and practices. These organizations can further seek to strengthen relationships among our peoples by facilitating exchanges of representatives.
We resolve at this first meeting of the renewal of our relations to convene again and as many times as it takes to facilitate the strengthening of our relations, and to comply with the spirit of understanding and friendship among our people. We as nations and peoples shall grow stronger as we accomplish the recognition and implementation of our rights and take our place among the community of all nations.
Let it be resolved that the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee and the Tataskweyak Cree Nation having met in assembly in the Cree Nation of Mistissini, Eeyou Istchee affirm the foregoing, in honour of our peoples and for the sake of future generations, as a declaration of Cree understanding amongst our nations and organizations.
Certification;
On behalf of the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee and the Tataskweyak Cree Nation, in unity, solidarity, mutual respect and friendship, we the undersigned attest that this declaration represents the collective sentiment of those representatives who convened in the Cree Nation of Mistissini, Eeyou Istchee, Canada on Tuesday, June 5, 2007.
