Indigenous Peoples Unite to Stop Genetically Engineered Trees   
      
   Oct 13, 2014 by admin   
      
   Indigenous Peoples Unite to Stop Genetically Engineered Trees:    
      
   GE Trees: Another Form of Colonization   
      
   IENActionCampLogoQualla Boundary, North Carolina-In the shadow of Columbus Day   
   and the legacy of colonization in the Americas, the Indigenous Environmental   
   Network [1] and Eastern Band of Cherokee community members organized a   
   gathering of Indigenous    
   Peoples from across the Southeastern US for an historic Indigenous Peoples'   
   action camp against genetically engineered trees (GE trees). Participants   
   condemned GE trees as a form of colonization of the forest.   
      
   The Indigenous Environmental Network Campaign to STOP GE Trees Action Camp   
   focused on building an information-sharing and mobilization network of tribal   
   representatives and community members to address the unique threats posed by   
   GE trees to Indigenous    
   Peoples, their culture, traditions and lifeways. Steering Committee members of   
   the Campaign to STOP GE Trees [2] were invited to present concerns about the   
   social and ecological dangers of GE trees.   
      
   "All trees and the variety of life that depend on forest biodiversity have   
   historically and will in the future continue to be a necessary part of   
   Indigenous culture and survival, which GE trees directly threaten," stated BJ   
   McManama, an organizer with    
   the Indigenous Environmental Network.   
      
   The action camp, which took place in the mountains of North Carolina, detailed   
   threats of genetically engineering forms of native trees traditionally used by   
   eastern Indigenous Peoples, specifically the American chestnut.   
      
   Cherokee participants expressed fears that American chestnuts, genetically   
   engineered with DNA from unrelated species, would negatively impact their   
   traditional lifeways, saying that GE trees are dead trees with no soul.   
      
   "I'm very concerned that GE trees would impact our future generations and   
   their traditional uses of trees. Our basket makers, people that use wood for   
   the natural colors of our clay work-there would be no natural life, no cycle   
   of life in GE tree    
   plantations," said Lisa Montelongo of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.   
      
   Genetically engineered eucalyptus trees also threaten Indigenous lands in the   
   US South. GE eucalyptus plantations, proposed by GE tree company ArborGen, are   
   planned from South Carolina to Florida to Texas. The future development of   
   millions of acres of    
   non-native and invasive GE eucalyptus trees would threaten Indigenous lands   
   throughout the region with devastating impacts including depletion of water,   
   contamination with toxic herbicides and pesticides and loss of biodiversity.   
      
   "This needs to be stopped immediately. This is not how the forest was meant to   
   be used.  The forest gives life to The People, but these GE trees mean death.   
   They are not for The People, they are only to make money for a few rich   
   people," said Danny    
   Billie of the Independent Traditional Seminole Nation, based in Florida.   
      
   100% of participants at the camp oppose the release of GE trees.   
      
   Contact:    
      
   Jay Burney, Media Coordinator, Campaign to STOP GE Trees +1.716.867.4080   
   jay@stopgetrees.org   
      
   BJ McManama, Organizer, Indigenous Environmental Network +1.828.777.4882   
   bjmcmanama@gmail.com   
      
   Notes:   
      
   1] Indigenous Environmental Network is a member of the Steering Committee of   
   the international Campaign to STOP GE Trees.   
      
   2] Presenters included representatives of Biofuelwatch, Global Justice Ecology   
   Project, World Rainforest Movement. The Center for Food Safety also presented   
      
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