The American Indian Law Alliance (AILA) is active at key international gatherings in New York, including the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), where it amplifies Haudenosaunee and broader Indigenous perspectives. AILA helps convene the Global Indigenous Women’s Caucus (GIWC) and the Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus (GIPC), providing platforms for Indigenous nations and communities to shape collective strategies and recommendations presented to UN bodies. During these sessions, AILA co-organizes side events on topics such as sovereignty, environmental justice, and Indigenous women’s leadership, and it sponsors the annual Indigenous Peoples Craft Fair, which uplifts traditional artists while educating the public and diplomats about Indigenous cultures and economies. These activities ensure that Indigenous peoples, particularly women and youth, have a visible and influential presence in shaping global policy frameworks on rights, development, and climate justice.
Statements
- 2025 Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus Statement
- 2025 Global Indigenous Womens’ Caucus Statement
- 2024 GIPC Statement
- 2023 Statement
- 2022 Statement
- 2019 GIPC Statement
- AILA Betty Lyons Expert Group Meeting Statement-Jan-23-2018 ⤓ .
- Joint Intervention The Haudenosaunee and the American Indian Law Alliance. ⤓
- AILA Intervention Mohawk Nation Border Issues. Ms. Betty Lyons (Onondaga Nation), presented this joint intervention on 29 April 2015 at the Fourteenth Session of the UNPFII. Intervention presented under Agenda Item 8: Future work of the Permanent Forum. ⤓
- Intervention by the Haudenosaunee and the American Indian Law Alliance presented at the 6th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), 8-12 July 2013, Geneva, Switzerland, presented under Agenda Item 3, by Kenneth Deer (Mohawk). ⤓
- Haudenosaunee intervention on ‘Principles of Good Governance’, delivered by Chief Oren Lyons, under Agenda Item 3 at the Thirteen Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). ⤓
- AILA joint intervention on ‘Territorial Integrity’ (Article 46 of the UNDRIP), under Agenda Item 3 at the Thirteen Session of the UNPFII. ⤓
- AILA joint intervention calling for ‘Indigenous Nations to be granted permanent observer status within all UN fora’ at the Thirteen Session of the UNPFII. ⤓
- “Paper on the Adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” September 13, 2007.
- Tonya Gonnella Frichner Statement in Response to the US Report
- Preliminary study of the impact on indigenous peoples of the international legal construct known as the Doctrine of Discovery
- Announcement of US Support for Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Intervention on the Issue of Hydrofracking ⤓
- Intervention on USA-Canadian Border Issue ⤓
- Statement by Tonya Gonnella Frichner on the Preliminary Study on the Doctrine of Discovery ⤓
Important UN Documents