By Alyansa Tigil Mina
In October 2024, 20 Indigenous youth from mining-affected communities across the Philippines gathered in Quezon City for a life-changing experience: the Empowering Indigenous Voices: ATM Youth Network Journalism Camp. This event was made possible through the generous support of Cultural Survival, whose funding enabled Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) to strengthen Indigenous youth leadership in environmental journalism, advocacy, and digital storytelling.
By Victoria Nolasco, Executive Director
In the face of a massive mining threat, a new generation of Indigenous youth in Mindanao is using citizen journalism as a powerful tool of resistance and cultural preservation. Through a project supported by Cultural Survival and led by Mindanao Climate Justice, young advocates are receiving the training and tools needed to tell their own stories and challenge dominant narratives about their communities.
Radyo Sagada 104.7 FM is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing news, information, and entertainment platforms through its broadcast channels. With the main objective of providing a space for marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous Peoples, the organization aims to amplify their voices and perspectives. In addition to broadcasting content, the organization provides training to empower community members as citizen journalists, enabling them to share their stories and experiences.
The main objective of Alyansa Tigil Mina is to raise awareness about the environmental and social impacts of large-scale mining and other development projects on Indigenous lands. This will be achieved by providing training and resources to community members, especially youth and women, to create and share engaging media content that highlights their experiences and perspectives.
The Mindanao Climate Justice Resource Facility advocates for community-driven climate and social justice in Mindanao, Philippines. Their main objective is to facilitate genuine transformation through a rights-based approach, focusing on the empowerment of marginalized communities and Indigenous Peoples, particularly the Lumad and Bangsamoro.
By Gwendolyn Gay L. Gaongen
Sagada Community Media Network's radio station, Radyo Sagada 104.7 FM, has seen a boost thanks to a year-long project called "Iyebkas mo, Ibikas ko." Funded by Cultural Survival's Indigenous Media Fund, the initiative ran from July 2023 to April 2024 and focused on enhancing radio communication skills and creating content specifically for Indigenous communities.
By Gerard Beelt Tiwow (CS Intern)
"Na ang buhay ng batang isinilang ay maging kasing tatag at kasing tibay nga punungkahoy at kagubatn at higit salahat ay lumaki ang bata na nakaugat sa lupa." (May the child that is born grow as strong and sturdy as the tree and the forest where it grows, and be rooted to the earth.)-- Teduray Prayer
January 28, 2022 Press Release from Peasant and Indigenous Press Forum
Across the world, Indigenous Peoples are turning to history and memory for solutions to today’s pandemic crisis. Among them are the Teduray and Lambangian Peoples in the Philippines, who recall the dulet, a highly transferable disease with a similar transmission profile to COVID-19.
By Minnie Degawan
Now, four months into the worldwide crisis brought about by COVID 19, the situation of Indigenous Peoples is slowly coming to light with the dissemination of reports from different Indigenous organizations. Indigenous Peoples are facing particularly challenging times due to some basic facts including the susceptibility of Indigenous communities to infectious diseases due to their lower immunity and, their lack of, or limited access to information, among others.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
