On November 12, 2010 the government of Canada finally formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The government's official statement falls far short of actual endorsement, however, emphasizing that the declaration "does not reflect customary international law nor change Canadian laws" and further emphasizing Canada's objection to most of the major rights spelled out in the declaration.
For Immediate Release
August 1, 2026
By Kerstin Sabene
On July 2, 2026, I boarded a lancha, a small public boat from Panajachel to the Maya Tz'utujil village of Santiago on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, which has been the site of heightened tensions since the beginning of the year.
By Angel Ferreira (Payayá, CS Intern)
At Volta Grande do Xingu, Brazil, two Indigenous communities, the Arara da Volta Grande and the Yudjá, continue to defend their ancestral territories against mounting external pressures. For the Yudjá, their name carries profound significance: it affirms their sovereignty and enduring relationship with the Xingu River, a bond that shapes their identity, culture, and way of life.
By Phoebe Farris (Powhatan-Pamunkey)
Faisu Mukunana (Tsou) is an acclaimed Indigenous woman writer from Taiwan. Born in the community of Lalauya in 1942, Mukunana has lived through two regimes: the Japanese occupation and the Republic of China. She speaks three languages, including her native Tsou, and is the recipient of several literary awards.
By Angel Ferreira (Payayá, CS Intern)
On July 10-12, 2026, the Payayá Territory, located in the municipality of Utinga, the gateway to Chapada Diamantina in Brazil, became the epicenter of ancestral communication and resistance for Indigenous Peoples. The 1st Meeting of Indigenous Youth Communicators of Bahia brought together leaders, Elders, youth from various ethnic groups, and partner organizations with a clear objective: to strengthen the defense of their territories through communication.
Today, July 15, 2026, at an official side event at the 19th session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Xavante Warã Association, communities within Areões Indigenous Land, Mobilization of Cerrado Indigenous Peoples (MOPIC), Rede Cerrado, and Cultural Survival released the advocacy brief "Let the A'uwẽ-Xavante Keep Dreaming," combining litigation, international advocacy, and a global solidarity campaign amplifying the A’uwẽ Xavante's calls for the prot
By Dev Kumar Sunuwar (Koĩts-Sunuwar, CS Staff)
A'uwẽ-Xavante leaders travel 9,000 kilometers from the Brazilian Cerrado to the United Nations in Geneva to ask the question behind the "green" energy boom: who pays for the world's clean transition?
GENEVA, Switzerland (July 9, 2026) — Among the A'uwẽ-Xavante people of Brazil, dreams are not metaphors. They are how knowledge travels: Elders receive songs, ceremonies, and guidance for their communities while they sleep. To dream, the Xavante say, they need their territory whole.
By Anonymous Journalism Fellow from Indonesia
On May 28 and 29, 2026, in commemoration of Indonesia’s Anti-Mining Day, a coalition of local residents and environmental activists staged silent demonstrations across several strategic locations in Weda Bay, North Maluku. The protesters called for an immediate halt to the rapid and aggressive expansion of the nickel industry in the region.
By Damaris Lenantare (Rendille, CS Journalism Fellow)
In Marsabit’s vast Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL), a land of great beauty, a quiet crisis is unfolding in Kenya. Repeated failed rainy seasons are pushing Indigenous pastoralist communities to the limits of their resilience.
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.
