Cultural Survival covers Indigenous Issues worldwide. As part of this work, our team joined the international negotiations of the 12th session of the Intersessional Working Group on Article 8(j) relating traditional knowledge, innovation and practices of Indigenous Peoples under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on November 12-16, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland. We spoke to many Indigenous leaders to communicate their priorities to our wider Indigenous audience.
Indigenous issues such as land grabbing, and healthcare, in the US receive little to no media coverage. This is because reporters do not consider these stories important enough. Tristan Ahtone (Kiowa), editor at large at Grist, suggests that hiring Indigenous journalists to work in newsrooms is the easiest way to address this problem. If that's not feasible, news organizations can collaborate with Indigenous reporters at other outlets. There are various ways to ensure that journalism is safeguarded and that the best possible work is produced.
Producer : Dev Kumar Sunuwar (Sunuwar)
Radio Producer Mathias Kowaya Tooko talks about food security in Tanzania for the Maasai people in this Maa language production.
Voice: Mathias Kowaya (Maasai)
Interviewees:
Fransis Shomet Naingisa
Nooseuri Lupa
Loltudula Rakatia
Lazaro Ndirima
Music: "Endomononi" by Nongishu Naisiri Seki, used with permission.
With colonization and migration comes intercultural exchanges. Religions are often brought from one area to another, and with this, new traditions and ways of worship. Radio producer Mathias Kowayu Tooko explores the impact of Christianity on his people.
Voice: Mathias Kowaya (Maasai)
Interviewees:
Parkipuny Kilel
Noorkireu Kurtut
Maruna Potot
Ngojie Masheren
Rikoni Mboro
Music: "Osidai" by Nalepo Shengena Kilel ,used with permission.
In Tanzania, the Indigenous Maasai people have been facing displacement for a long time.
The most recent incident of land loss involves large numbers of Maasai peoples being forced to leave their ancestral homes to make way for a game reserve. The adverse effects of losing land will be felt for a long time. In this radio program, we uncover some reasons why Indigenous Peoples worldwide face extreme poverty.
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Interviewee: Edson Krenak (Krenak)
Music: 'Whispers' by Ziibiwan, used with permission
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)
Interviewee:Noah Solonka Tompo(Maasai)
"Anania2" by The Baba Project, used with permission.
"Burn your village to the ground", by The Halluci Nation, used with permission