By Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag)
By Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag)
The story of the Maskoke Peoples is, as that of all Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, a story of dispossession, cultural assimilation, and treaty violations. Forced out of their homelands by government-imposed removal policies, Maskoke People were displaced from their territories in 1836. Only in 2018, did a small community of Maskoke People finally rematriate some of these ancestral lands and return to live once again in what is today called Alabama.
By Shaldon Ferris (CS Staff, Khoisan)
By Tokunbo Dada (Yoruba)
In Nigeria, many farmers didn't trust vaccines for COVID-19, making it hard to fight the virus. With financial support from Cultural Survival’s Indigenous Community Media Fund, Paramount 94.5 FM Abeokuta in Nigeria, undertook Project New Hope, which used radio broadcasts to teach about vaccines in a way that was culturally relevant in the Yoruba language. The station built a bridge between doctors and farmers, showing them how vaccines could save lives.
In October 2023, Cultural Survival and Qhana Pukara Kurmi, an association of Indigenous communities of the department of Oruro, Bolivia, submitted an alternative report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The report spotlights the rights violations suffered by the Quechua communities of the Ayllu Acre Antequera for the Committee’s consideration during its 111th session, which took place from November 20 to December 8, 2023.
By Isapi Rúa (Guaraní)
Indigenous food systems are systems of production, distribution, and consumption of foods based on Traditional Knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples. These systems are characterized by their diversity, sustainability, and resilience, which makes them preferable to conventional industrial food systems.
By Kajkoj Máximo Ba Tiul (Maya Poqomchí')
Guatemala: Years of Contempt and Abandonment
Guatemala has a population of close to 18 million inhabitants, mostly Indigenous, although the last census reported the population at 40 percent. The Indigenous population is made up of four Nations known as the Maya, Xinka, Garifuna, and Ladino Peoples. The Maya Nation is the largest, with 23 distinct Peoples. This composition of its inhabitants makes Guatemala a plurinational country.
By Chad Valdez (Diné/Navajo)
By Phoebe Farris (Powhatan-Pamunkey)
The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival held its annual celebration of Indigenous film in Richmond, Virginia, from November 17-19, 2023, amplifying the contributions of Native Americans, First Nations, and Indigenous Peoples around the globe in local, independent, nonprofit, and commercial film. Its films, panel discussions, and Q&As showcased stories and stimulated deep conversations that are at once relevant to specific Indigenous lives and all of humanity.
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.