Skip to main content

Indigenous Women Must be Celebrated!

From Bartolina Sisa, the revolutionary freedom fighter from Bolivia, to Sarah Baartman, the icon of womanhood from South Africa, the world has certainly witnessed the strength of Indigenous women. We pay tribute to heroines of yesterday, as well as to the women who inspire us today. 

"An equal world is an enabled world. How will you help forge a gender equal world? Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality."
The Sacred Feminine
There are many issues that Cultural Survival has covered and fought for as an organization over the past 47 years, and these issues include but are not limited to land rights, Indigenous languages, traditional knowledge, self-determination and freedom of expression. One thing that stands out for our Executive Director Galina Angarova, and is very close to her heart, is the topic of the sacred feminine. 
 
 
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Igorot Kankanaey, Philippines), a long-time activist and UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, shares her experience with successes of small, local groups reaching out to the international community to collaborate in better defending their rights. She explains how her experience as a nurse led to community engagement, which quickly turned into a passion for advocating for the needs of community members as an activist.
In March we commemorate two very important international days, Zero Discrimination Day on March 1st, as well International Women's Day on March 8th. How are Indigenous Peoples discriminated against, and furthermore, how are Indigenous Women discriminated against?
In this program we pay homage to Xoroxloo Duxee, an Indigenous Woman from Botswana who died from starvation and dehydration because access to a water well in the desert had been restricted.
 
Joan Carling is an activist from the Kankanaey people of the Philippines. She has served as an Expert Member on the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during 2014 and 2016, and as the Secretary General of the Asia Indigenous Pact. In this interview, she explains the benefits of the participation of Indigenous Peoples in local and global decision-making, which would bring a diversity of perspective and solutions to pressing issues.
Just as Lake Sebu in the Philippines represents an important feature of cultural significance for the T'boli people, so does the advancement of traditional weaving techniques known as Tnalak weaving. When the T'boli community learned that their distinctive Tnalak-style garments were being produced under false pretenses by non-T'boli manufacturers, they organized into a group called Tnalak Tau Sebu Inc. Through this group, T'boli women were able to secure collective intellectual property trademark rights to Tnalak weaving that are specific to their geographical location, which was an important victory for their community of women weavers.
This news report is brought to you by KNBA Radio. KNBA is a public radio station in Anchorage, Alaska. The station is currently owned by Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and primarily airs an adult album alternative music format, while incorporating Native and non-Native programming from Native Voice One, National Public Radio, Public Radio International and Alaska Public Radio Network. Bulletin produced and presented by Tripp Crouse.
A Global News Bulletin on the topic of Indigenous rights. In this edition:
  • Lifeless body of a seven-year-old girl found in Mexico
  • Children die of malnutrition in Argentina
  • Exhibition of artefacts of Namibian San people 
  • University and community in talks over skeletal remains
  • Aboriginal Australians cannot be deported
  • Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia win court battle against coal mining
  • Nepal loses one of last two-surviving Kusunda language speakers