The Biggest Mistake New Indigenous Leaders Make at the UN
The biggest mistake I see? Believing the UN is biased toward justice.
Let’s cut to it.
If you:
Deliver the perfect statement
Make the airtight legal case
Prove rights beyond doubt
You believe, change will follow.
Well, it won’t.
Because that’s not how power works.
The UN Isn’t a Debate. It’s a Game.
And the rules?
They were written long before you bought your ticket to New York.
The real decisions?
Happen before the session opens
Before the agenda gets approved
Before you even step into the room
By the time you sit down, most of the game is already locked in.
That’s why I stopped chasing table scraps.
I stopped fighting for permission to speak.
Instead, I started doing something else entirely.
I Map the System
Every process has layers.
Visible sessions.
Hidden prep meetings.
Private state-to-state consultations.
I find the gaps.
The places no one’s watching.
The moments before decisions get formalized.
That’s where leverage lives.
I Find the Pressure Points
I look at who benefits from the status quo.
Not who says they support us.
Not who claps for the right language.
Who actually gains from things staying the same?
And what would it take for them to shift?
Not values. Not speeches.
Pressure. Incentives. Alignment.
That’s what changes outcomes.
I Move Early
You want to make impact?
Start before the session.
Before the draft.
Before the agenda gets shaped.
Talk to states off-cycle.
Send the quiet brief.
Float the language you want while everyone else is still deciding their priorities.
Real influence comes from shaping what gets discussed.
Before the discussion starts.
Yes, Our Presence Matters
Let’s be real.
Indigenous Peoples have reshaped the system in powerful ways.
We’ve set standards.
We’ve secured declarations.
We’ve influenced the development of norms across human rights, climate, biodiversity.
Sometimes, the right statement at the right moment opens a door.
But most of the wins?
They came from groundwork.
From relationships.
From strategy.
From timing.
From getting States to lead.
From inserting language early.
From knowing where we sit in the broader landscape of global priorities.
Before You Go
If you walk into the UN thinking it’s a fair fight?
You’ll waste your best energy performing for a system that was never built for you.
Walk in knowing it’s a system.
Study the map.
Move early.
Push quietly.
And never confuse inclusion with influence.
Because real power in this space?
Isn’t about being heard.
It’s about deciding what gets talked about at all.
That’s the window.
See you next week!