Obama Pays Lip Service to the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples

President Obama did not endorse the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples (UNDRIP). He qualified it.  He said, "The United States supports the Declaration, which—while not legally binding or a statement of current international law—has both moral and political force. It expresses both the aspirations of indigenous peoples around the world and those of States in seeking to improve their relations with indigenous peoples. Most importantly, it expresses aspirations of the United States, aspirations that this country seeks to achieve within the structure of the U.S. Constitution, laws, and international obligations, while also seeking, where appropriate, to improve our laws and policies."

President Obama, like Prime Minister Harper, said the UNDRIP was aspirational and not legally binding or a statement of current international law. President Obama is wrong.  The UNDRIP is not an aspirational document, it is real and it is binding at international law.  President Obama, like Prime Minister Harper, have NOT set a new course in the relations between Indigenous peoples and the U.S/Canada.  What they did is nothing but lip service and a slap in the face to Indigenous people in Canada and the U.S. 

Attached is the U.S. document:  http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/153223.pdf