Globally, Indigenous Peoples are at the forefront of environmental and land defense. In 2021 alone, about 40 percent of murdered environmental defenders were from Indigenous communities, making up a disproportionately high percentage of environmental injustices. Cultural Survival interviewed Michel Forst, the first person to hold the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, the first international mechanism in the world dedicated to protecting environmental defenders.
On July 14, 1923, the Hereditary Chief of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Deskaheh Levi General (Cayuga), traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to speak before the League of Nations. He sought to obtain international recognition of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (historically known as the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora Nations) as a sovereign Indigenous Nation governed by a hereditary council of chiefs.
In this Afrikaans language radio program, Catherine Wiese from Valley FM in Worcester, South Africa interviews Piet Berends (San) on a walk undertaken to get in touch with nature, and to celebrate the life of plants and animals.
Produced by Valley FM.
Young girls on the shore of Lake Victoria are taken advantage of by men who conduct business in the area.
The Amazon Theatrix ensemble is a group of young people from the Luo community in Kisumu, Kenya, who use Theatre to empower young girls.
We spoke to Jones Arodi Okoth.
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Interviewee:
Jones Arodi Okoth (Luo)
"Anania2, by TheBaba Project used with permission.
"Burn your village to the ground", by The Halluci Nation, used with permission.
During our recent visit to Kenya, Cultural Survival stopped in Kajiado County to speak to
Noah Solonka Tompo(Maasai) from Transforming Pastoralist Women Initiative in Kajiado County, Kenya Maasai.
This organization also provides counseling services to Indigenous Youth who are addicted to drugs.
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Noah Solonka Tompo(Maasai)
Interviewee
"Anania2" by The Baba Project, used with permission.
"Burn your village to the ground", by The Halluci Nation, used with permission
Indigenous peoples in Itogon, Benguet province, in the Cordillera region of the Philippines, have been struggling against large-scale corporate mining that endangers their ancestral lands, resources, and ways of life for more than a century. Even today, they continue to wait for social justice. The Benguet Corporation, earlier known as Benguet Consolidated Inc— one of the oldest top-producing gold mining companies founded in 1903 initiated the first underground gold mining operations in Antamok in 1907. The corporation expanded its operation to Acupan and Balatok in 1927.
Can language be used as a skill? - The South African Nama Development Association is an organization who is recognizing the value in teaching youth the Nama language, an ancient language spoken by Indigenous Southern African people in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Interviewee: Lelani Jacobs (Nama)
"LIBRES Y VIVAS " by MARE ADVETENCIA, used with permission.
"Burn your village to the ground", by The Halluci Nation, used with permission
Sound and Soil is a live, collaborative, and experimental performance that took place in Nababeep, South Africa. Situated in the far Northern Cape Province, 50 kms north of Springbok and 65 kms from the Namibian border post Vioolsdrift, the performance included a collaboration with the Nama Stap Dansers from Steinkopf. Craig Beckett from Indigenous Youth Exchange Africa attended the event.
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Interviewee Craig Beckett (Naro, Nama)
"Lights in the forest" by Ziibiwan, used with permission.
A year ago, UN human rights experts expressed grave concerns about the continuous encroachment on traditional Maasai lands and housing, accompanied by a lack of transparency in, and consultation with the Maasai Indigenous Peoples, during decision-making and planning.
The Bonn Climate Change Conference took place from June 5th to June 15th, 2023. The conference builds on the mandates that have emerged from COP 27 in Egypt in 2022. Cultural Survival's Edson Krenak attended the conference and spoke to Sele Tagivuni (iTaukei) from Fiji.
Produced by Edson Krenak (Krenak)
Edited by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Interviewee: Sele Tagivuni (iTaukei)
"Burn your village to the ground", by The Halluci Nation, used with permission.