COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, the Arctic, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and communities throughout the world that depend on their natural ecosystem for sustenance, livelihood and culture are the world’s prime witnesses to climate change.

Yet even as they watch as their lands experience some of its earliest impacts, they have little say in the most important climate negotiations to date: the 15th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that began Dec. 7 – something that Inupiat Patricia Cochran, chair of the Indigenous Peoples Global Summit on Climate Change, said “epitomizes climate injustice.”

“We did get some gains in the work that we are doing here in Copenhagen,” Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said. “We managed to bring in the recognition of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an important instrument to ensure the rights and the knowledge of indigenous peoples is respected in all climate mitigation and adaptation processes.”

Tauli-Corpuz considers this a major victory because no convention has even discussed the rights of indigenous peoples, much less mentions the Declaration. “Of course, we would have wanted stronger language but because of the opposition by the United States, and that we’ll have to negotiate with them on what is going to be contained in the document, that is the best that we can reach so far.”

The historic climate summit – aimed at reworking agreements to combat climate change when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a pact of agreed-upon target emissions between 37 industrialized countries and the European Union runs out in 2012, offers indigenous peoples a critical venue: the eyes of the world.

There’s little question on the part of those “on the ground” that not only is climate change happening, it is happening now and it is happening fast.

What folks don’t understand is, “it’s really about human beings, not just animals or the land,” said Cochran. “In our area there’s hardly a person who hasn’t lost an uncle or a grandfather who’s fallen through the ice and is never seen again. So for us climate change really is a very serious reality, it’s not just a theoretical discussion.”

It’s not only an Arctic issue, “but it’s so very real here,” says Gwichi’in Arctic Village leader Sarah James. The Global Gender and Climate Alliance is filming James’ efforts to call attention to the climate changes and industrial development that is affecting the ecology of the Arctic. “The permafrost just melts away now, drains the lakes, leaves a fire hazard.”

The Gwichi’in so far count 18 vanished lakes, entire ecosystems perished. Then fire sweeps through and burns the lichen that can take decades to grow and which the caribou depend on. “It’s displacing and disorienting the animals. It confuses people even,” said James.

And it’s poised to get worse. The intent of the UNFCCC proposals known as ‘Reduced Emissions from Reforestation and Forest Degradation’ is to halt deforestation by having governments of developing nations agree to protect forestlands designated a carbon sink to help stabilize the system thrown off-kilter by industrial emissions. REDD is expected to play a key role in the post-Kyoto agreement.

Supporters say that properly designed policy offers unprecedented opportunities to create sustainable livelihoods for forest people while safeguarding biodiversity and services provided by healthy forest ecosystems.

But a new report by Survival International says too little attention is given to the impacts these measures are having or will potentially have on indigenous peoples. REDD makes it easier for governments, corporations and others to lay claim to, exploit and, “in some cases,” destroy indigenous lands under the guise of climate change, says the report. Activists already report increased human rights violations such as forced evictions.

A growing chorus of environmental scientists and educators including Forests and European Union Resource Network say that allowing nations to trade designated carbon sinks for added carbon emissions would only justify more emissions by putting fossil fuel users over their allowance under the Kyoto Protocol. Environmental groups say linking REDD with emissions trading allows industrial nations to find novel places to bury their emissions rather than cut back.

The position of the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change is that REDD schemes “threaten our rights and our very existence.” Consultations often take the form of simply informing their communities. Instead, IFIPCC said they “need to include all affected and involved indigenous peoples, and our representative organizations.”

The agendas of indigenous delegations included a discussion of REDD during a special Indigenous Peoples’ Day symposium Dec. 12 inside the Denmark National Museum in downtown Copenhagen. Dinner, a film presentation by Conversations with the Earth, and a mingling of indigenous people from around the world followed the long and strenuous day of talks. Later that evening Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu gifted those present with a harvest origin story.

Tebtebba organized the event to allow indigenous people to speak in more depth about the issues related to climate change. “They are victims of impacts from climate change but at the same time indigenous peoples are also the solutions to the problems that we face,” explained Tauli-Corpuz.

The U.S.-based Indigenous Environmental Network met early on “to discuss our actions strategy,” said tribal campus climate organizer Kandi Mossett. She said IEN was looking into doing five direct actions. One, a massive march from downtown Copenhagen to the Bella Center, the site of the talks, coincided with Indigenous Day Dec. 12. A demonstration at the Canadian Embassy was also in the works, she said.

IEN’s youth delegate Gemma Givens, also part of SustainUS: The US Youth Network for Sustainable Development, said all the international youth delegations were crafting their goals into one cohesive statement. “Our futures are being negotiated and we have to make sure we are heard in this process.

Givens said the U.S. has a lot to lose from a weak agreement “and a lot to gain from the transition to clean and safe energy and a stable environment. We’re asking the U.S. to re-engage as a leader and put together a meaningful and just binding treaty to demonstrate the power and dedication of the U.S. youth climate movement.”

The climate talks continue through Dec. 18.