The seminar on Indigenous Spiritualities, Land Rights, and Climate Justice introduced a Statement on Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, which emphasizes the following: Indigenous Peoples are created with God-given identities that are beautiful. God was present in their lands and among their peoples before colonizers arrived. When Christians brought the Bible, Indigenous People recognized the voice of their Creator in Jesus’ teachings. They did not hear a call to reject their identities.
Climate justice is inextricably linked to the human rights of Indigenous peoples, particularly as Indigenous communities occupy 20 to 25 percent of the earth’s land surface, of which 80 percent of that land mass holds the world’s remaining biodiversity.