‘Don’t look, don’t touch, 
don’t come too close. 
Don’t let them see, don’t let them touch, don’t let them get too close.’

Can you imagine how these messages influence the future of our children?
Now, the time has come to speak the truth, to reconsider where we are, and face towards the future. 
Within the actual histories of Indigenous peoples around the globe, truth and human wisdom can be found, I believe

Knowledge from the contemporary world and wisdom from the Indigenous world – 
The two compliment one another and move forward toward the future 
Anticipating the possibilities – isn’t it inspiring? 
There is a seat waiting for you 
Here in this circle we are all connected 
This is the Summit we envision sharing with you

As an old woman at the age of 80, when I think that I was born as Ainu only to be discriminated against and then die... my emotion runs up my throat and almost bursts into the sky. 

I have lived my life through clenched teeth, in frustration and embarrassment. People have asked me, “Why do these people called Ainu exist?” Racism, prejudice, have you any idea of the wounds inflicted by these? 

And Ainu, Ainu have said nothing in protest. We are treated like so much trash and yet we just endure it. I don’t know how much longer we can keep our silence.

Everything stems from the Japanese government. If the Japanese government would only recognize Ainu as Indigenous peoples, everything will change. Young Ainu: I beg you, please listen to this prayer from an old woman. I ask that you fight for this and that you endure. 

To prevail in this please remember: Even though you are young, you are still Ainu. Don’t mimic the ways of Wajin. Ainu should fight the Ainu way. The Japanese government and all of Japan must recognize that the Ainu People are still here, and that we are stronger than ever.

Since the Meiji Era, laws have stripped us of everything. What we have lost are not only our rights but also the natural environment too. 

Having no means to recover all that we have lost, all we can do is to continue hoping and praying - someday, someday – and gazing on while humans and the natural environment continue to be destroyed. 

However, together with many generations of people around the globe who have held on to this hope, we combine our collective energies and launch the Indigenous Peoples Summit. 

For me, this Indigenous Peoples Summit gives us the means to restore a natural environment that was on the road to devastation. Launching the Indigenous Summit together with the next generation, restoring the natural environment for the next generation, and being able to take part in this endeavor, I am filled with gratitude.

I’d like to welcome the first G8 annual summit to be held in our ancestral homeland Ainu Mosir, now known as “Hokkaido.” This is the first G8 annual summit since the ratification of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples. This Summit offers us an opportunity to raise the voices of Indigenous peoples of the world. Ukocaranke an-naa (Let’s engage in meaningful dialogue!)

The global population of Indigenous peoples is said to be over 300 million. However, the treatment of Indigenous peoples such as Ainu and Uchinanchû (the Indigenous people of the Ryûkyû Islands) in Japan, supposedly an “advanced” country, leaves a lot to be desired. I welcome the Indigenous peoples of the world to gather here in Ainu Mosir, to fuse our combined wisdom and discuss how to make a better society through peaceful means.

The time has come to be aware of the treasures within ourselves that we have inherited from our ancestors. “Ainu”… a word I once did not dare to speak in this country, has become a word I can say with pride. We are holding this Indigenous Peoples Summit to move towards a society where Ainu people can speak the word “Ainu” without shame.