Leaders and activists from all over the planet converged in Madrid, Spain to attend COP25, The United Nations Climate Change Conference.
At the forefront of half a million protesters who marched through the Spanish Capital City, were indigenous voices who led the charge in what has become a monumental demonstration to highlight the global challenges that we’re all facing as a result of climate change.
Ta’kaiya Blaney (Tla A'min Nation) from Indigenous Climate Action was there, and we got a chance to speak to her.
Cultural Survival's Avexnim Cojti (Maya Ki'che) spoke to Janene Yazzie about the participation of Indigenous Peoples at the UN's Climate Action Summit.
Janene Yazzie (Navajo) is Development Program Coordinator for International Indian Treaty Council and the council’s representative as co-convenor of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group of the U.N. High-level Political Forum on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Production: Shaldon Ferris (San, South Africa)
Image: Janine Yazzie
The 18th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on the rights of Indigenous Peoples was held from April 22nd to May 3rd 2019. The theme for this year was Traditional Knowledge: Generation, Transmission and Protection.
We got a chance to speak via Skype to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli Corpuz, on the meaning behind this particular theme and why it was chosen.
MUSIC
Lights in the Forest by Yarina.
Used with permission.
Indigenous peoples' day is about honoring indigenous resistance, and celebrating the contributions of indigenous peoples all over the world. In this newsletter we celebrate the activism of Antie Pua Case from Hawaii, and other activists around the world who fight to preserve our mountains, our rivers, our valleys, our Earth. The program ends with a song by Taino artist Brothery Mikey, who produced a song called "Like the Mauna", inspired by the Indigenous People of Hawaii's efforts to protect the sacred Mauna.
What can Western science learn from Indigenous knowledge? We speak with Dr. Daniel Wildcat (Yuchi) and Tui Shortland (Maori) about the value of Indigenous longitudinal place-based knowledge that Indigenous People have gathered over millennia. We unpack what positive collaboration between Western science and Indigenous science can look like and why it is important.
Credits:
Background music:
"Atahualpa" and "Lights in the forest" by Yarina. Used with permission.
Can traditional knowledge from Indigenous communities provide us with answers to fighting climate change? We speak with Andrea Carmen (Yaqui), Executive Director of International Indian Treaty Council. She speaks about how Indigenous women are very strong voices in the work for the protection of the environment, through their role as food producers, knowledge holders, and the first teachers of children.
In Mbororo communities in Chad, Indigenous women are the most affected by climate change because they are the ones collecting food, water, and traditional medicines for their families. Changes to their environment have cause increased hardship on the Mbororo who are pastoralist cattle headers, as they are forced to move more frequently to cope with increasing drought conditions.
What is the role of Indigenous Peoples in the current climate crisis? What responsibility do Indigenous Peoples feel towards Mother Earth today? Listen to three Indigenous women leaders give their perspectives on their feeling of the interconnection between all living things and our planet in the face of climate change, and what they feel should be done with that knowledge.
onozcamos sobre Seguridad y Soberanía Alimentaria y lo que están haciendo las mujeres Indígenas para fortalecer este aspecto tan importante en la vida apoyadas por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) y el Centro para la Autonomía y Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas (CADPI) que intentan incentivar la participación de las mujeres y comunidades indígenas en la toma de decisiones y formulación de Políticas Públicas que incidan en su Seguridad Alimentaria.
El programa ha constado de dos talleres de capacitación y un periodo de formación virtual de cuatro meses en el que los participantes han desarrollado investigaciones dirigidas para identificar los principales problemas y necesidades relacionadas con la tenencia de recursos en sus comunidades, cuyos resultados se presentarán en este encuentro.
Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard (Anishinaabe, Canada) explains how the concerns that have been labeled as “women’s issues” are in fact central to the progress of Indigenous rights. Often, concerns such as domestic abuse, schooling, and healthcare are often sidelined in favor of focusing on issues that are seen as more universal. Dr. Lavell-Harvard places them at the center of her activism efforts, showing that there is no need to compromise or postpone the rights of Indigenous women in Indigenous movements globally.
Dayamani Barla, Indigenous tribal journalist and activist from Jharkland, India, discusses how Indigenous Peoples have been displaced from their traditional farming lands in the name of dams, mining and other development projects.
Produced by Dev Kumar Sunuwar and Jagat Dong from Nepal, for Cultural Survival after attending the Indigenous Terra Madre conference held in November, 2015 in Meghalaya, North East India.
Una serie de entrevistas con mujeres (y un hombre) conducidas durante la Conferencia Global de Mujeres Indigenas en Noviembre de 2013 en Lima, Peru.
Escucha a esta mujer indígena de Perú, que dice que todas las mujeres indígenas sufren de vulneración de los derechos humanos individuales y colectivos. Cuando recursos naturales están explotados y el ambiente está impactado por la contaminación, las mujeres de la comunidades se sienten las consecuencias directamente.
Una serie de entrevistas con mujeres (y un hombre) sacadas durante la Conferencia Global de Mujeres Indigenas en Noviembre de 2013 en Lima, Peru.
En el pasado, las mujeres indígenas nunca habían visto limites de su territorio, pero ahora se encuentran en una situación difícil, demarcando su tierra y sumiendo concepciones del territorio. Estas mujeres quieren un cambio para que pare la explotación de la tierra, y para respetar la naturaleza y el territorio en que ellas viven.
Una serie de entrevistas con mujeres (y un hombre) sacadas durante la Conferencia Global de Mujeres Indigenas en Noviembre de 2013 en Lima, Peru.
Lo que buscan los pueblos y las mujeres indígenas es como vivir una buena vida con agua natural, ríos sin contaminación, productos ecológicos, y más que nada la soberanía alimentaria. Además, las mujeres indígenas están tratando de defender los derechos de las mujeres con proyectos productivos; también están luchando por la igualdad de oportunidades.
Join Cultural Survival as we interview Dayamani Barla, winner of the 2013 Ellen Lutz award for Indigenous Leadership, as we catch up with her at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, May 2013.