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The Honor Tax - Fulfilling our Responsibilities

The Honor Tax is a way of recognizing and respecting the sovereignty of Native Nations, and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This is a “tax” out of respect for Native Sovereignty - rather than a gift or donation. We all live on traditional Native homelands. If you do not live in Wiyot territory you can initiate an Honor Tax in your community!map_large

The Honor Tax Resolution

We, the peoples, organizations, institutions, agencies, and governments who now reside on the Wiyot Nation’s traditional territories hereby respectfully pledge an annual Honor Tax (in an amount decided by the giver) to the Wiyot Nation in recognition and support of their sovereignty;

Recognizing the sovereignty of the Wiyot Nation, whose aboriginal homelands include the estuaries of the Bpadtawodt (Mad), Wiyodt (Eel) and Dtagkdtug‘agka (Van Duzen ) Rivers, and adjacent coastal lands which comprise their traditional territory;

Respecting the Wiyot Peoples’ historic, cultural, and economic relationships to their homelands that have provided them the gifts of physical and spiritual sustenance since time immemorial;

Affirming that such relationships have supported the Wiyot people’s cultural, philosophical, and intellectual evolution as a distinct people for countless generations;

Considering that the Wiyot Nation has never surrendered their aboriginal rights to their lands, resources, or territory by treaty or any other instrument or decree;

Acknowledging the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly on September 13, 2007, in its entirety;

Acknowledging specifically Article 26 of that Declaration regarding lands, resources and territories, which states:

  1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
  2. Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.
  3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.

With this in mind, we invite all residents, organizations, businesses, and governmental entities to join us in acknowledging and respecting the sovereignty of the Wiyot Nation through participating in this Honor Tax.

For more information go to:   http://honortax.org