Advances in Native Food Sovereignty | Yurok Tribe Adopts Ordinance Banning GMOs





New law affirms rights to native
foods and foodways


ORDINANCE IS FIRST TO
ADDRESS GE SALMON





Moderator’s Note: In what is sure to become a widely
replicated action, The Yurok Tribe of California has just announced the
adoption of an ordinance supporting indigenous food sovereignty while banning
the use of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs), including both plant and,
in a first, animal species. The ordinance specifically establishes a ban on
AquaBounty’s transgenic salmon (trademarked as AquAdvantage salmon), which was recently approved by the FDA (Food
and Drug Administration) and earlier by the EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency). The inclusion of GE salmon is especially important and speaks to the
cultural, economic, and ecological significance of wild salmon to the Yurok.





The Yurok
Tribe ordinance joins a growing list of tribes, municipalities, and counties endorsing
resolutions or adopting ordinances that ban GEOs to protect indigenous, other traditional,
and organic farming communities. One recently introduced measure seeks to
protect ‘center of origin’ crops like native corn from threats posed by genetic
contamination by GEOs, as is the case with an ordinance being considered by
Costilla County, Colorado (see reports of November
12, November
15, November
16, and November
19).





The Yurok
ordinance is part of a broader organized effort under the rubric of the newest
program of the Northern California
Tribal Court Coalition (NCTCC), the ‘Rights of Mother Earth.’ According to
the NCTCC home page this program focuses on “working with…member tribes and allies
on all issues involving indigenous food sovereignty, including banning GMO
salmon and crops on Tribal lands and reducing chemical pesticides.”























Excerpt
from Yurok Tribe GEO Ordinance.


Tribal findings affirm ‘original
instructions’, call
for decolonial food,


and enunciate commitment
to principles of renewal.






The Yurok
are the largest Native
American tribal nation in California and have long been defenders and
protectors of their homeland Klamath River watershed. Yurok activists and communities
long have been at the forefront of environmental justice struggles including
decades dedicated to restoring native
salmon runs to the Klamath. The tribe is widely recognized for its salmon
sanctuary in the Blue Creek drainage. They are also recognized for their
collaborative work with environmentalists on California
Condor recovery and conservation.





I am
re-posting the media release from NCTCC and the Yurok Tribe. Copies of the
ordinance (formally enacted December 10, 2015) may be downloaded at this link: Yurok
Tribe GEO Ordinance.





Press
Release | Yurok Tribe GEO Ordinance





FOR
IMMEDIATE MEDIA RELEASE





December
14, 2015 | Klamath, California





On
December 10, 2015, after several months of committee drafting and opportunity
for public comment, the Yurok Tribal Council unanimously voted to enact the
Yurok Tribe Genetically Engineered Organism (“GEO”) Ordinance.





The
Tribal GEO Ordinance prohibits the propagation, raising, growing, spawning,
incubating, or releasing genetically engineered organisms (such as growing GMO
crops or releasing genetically engineered salmon) within the Tribe’s territory
and declares the Yurok Reservation to be a GMO-free zone. While other Tribes,
such as the Dine’ (Navajo) Nation, have declared GMO-free zones by resolution,
this ordinance appears to be the first of its kind in the nation.





This
announcement comes on the heels of the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s
(FDA) approval of genetically engineered “AquAdvantage” salmon in November.





On April
11, 2013, the Yurok Tribe enacted a resolution opposing genetically engineered
salmon, and then secured a grant from the National Congress of American Indians
(NCAI) to support the Tribe’s work in continuing to protect its ancestral
lands, including: waters, traditional learning and teaching systems, seeds,
animal-based foods, medicinal plants, salmon, sacred places, and the health and
well-being of the Tribe’s families and villages. GMO farms, whether they are
cultivating fish or for fresh produce, have a huge, negative impact on
watersheds the world over. The Yurok Tribe’s homeland is on the Klamath River,
where massive algal blooms, exacerbated by agricultural runoff and antiquated
hydroelectric dams, turn the river toxic each summer.





The Yurok
People have managed and relied upon the abundance of salmon on the Klamath
River since time immemorial. The Tribe has a vital interest in the viability
and survival of the wild, native Klamath River salmon species and all other
traditional food resources.





 “The
Yurok People have the responsibility to care for our natural world, including
the plants and animals we use for our foods and medicines. This Ordinance is a
necessary step to protect our food sovereignty and to ensure the spiritual,
cultural and physical health of the Yurok People. GMO food production systems,
which are inherently dependent on the overuse of herbicides, pesticides and
antibiotics, are not our best interest,” said James Dunlap, Chairman of the
Yurok Tribe.





The
Ordinance allows for enforcement of violations through the Yurok Tribal Court.
Yurok Chief Judge Abby Abinanti stated, “It is the inherent sovereign right of
the Yurok People to grow plants from natural traditional seeds and to
sustainably harvest plants, salmon and other fish, animals, and other
life-giving foods and medicines, in order to sustain our families and
communities as we have successfully done since time immemorial; our Court will
enforce any violations of these inherent, and now codified, rights.”





The Yurok
Tribe is working with other Tribes in a regional collaborative as part of the
Northern California Tribal Court Coalition (NCTCC), and the Tribe and NCTCC are
co-hosting an Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit in Klamath in the spring of
2016.





A signed
copy of the ordinance can be found on NCTCC’s website: http://nctcc.org/Page.asp?NavID=13 





For
questions about the ordinance, contact Matt Mais at 707.482.1350,
mmais@yuroktribe.nsn.us. 





Or
Stephanie Dolan, Executive Director of the Northern California Tribal Court
Coalition 530.575.5818, sdolan@nctcc.org.




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