For Immediate Release
Contact: Suzanne Benally, Executive Director, 617-441-5400 x 16 sbenally@cs.org
Agnes Portalewska, Communications Manager, 617-441-5410 x14 agnes@cs.org
Dayamani Barla Selected for Cultural Survival’s Ellen L. Lutz Indigenous Rights Award
By Vandna Tete, Project Coordinator
In the dense, forest-clad hills of Netarhat, Jharkhand, in the eastern part of India, where the red earth is as much a source of identity as a target for industrial extraction, a new sound is cutting through the silence of the valleys. It is not the roar of machines used in mining or the crash of falling trees, but the steady, rhythmic broadcast of the Asur language radio programs traveling from village to village.
By Akash Poyam (Gond/Koitur, CS Fellow)
By Akash Poyam (Gond/Koitur, CS Fellow)
By Bijo Thomas, Radio Mattoli Station Director
As part of an overall effort to protect and empower Indigenous communities, several initiatives have been undertaken to address critical challenges facing the Asur tribe. These include conducting awareness campaigns against mining and deforestation, advocating for Tribal self-governance, and working to restore ancestral rights to water, forests, and land. In addition, efforts are underway to document the endangered language, culture, and Traditional Knowledge of the Asur and to publish the Tribe's rich oral literature.
Radio Mattoli functions as a platform to give voice to people who have less access to mass media or less opportunity to express their views on community development. Their activities will be featured in a magazine. CRM is the Information and Communication Technology wing of WSSS, a community radio station that was started in 2009 and is located in Dwaraka, five kilometers from Mananthavady.
By Shubhranshu Choudhary, Editor, Valasa Bultoo Radio (Bluetooth Radio for Displaced Indigenous People)
In the heart of Karbi Anglong in the state of Assam, northeast India, nestled amidst emerald hills and vibrant Indigenous communities, thrives KAT News TV, a beacon of hope and information. More than just a media outlet, this dedicated channel has become a lifeline for the region, playing a crucial role in the aftermath of the pandemic.
With financial support from Cultural Survival's Indigenous Community Media Fund, KAT News TV, a channel started in 2016 for the Karbi people in India, began filming how the Karbi people were recovering from the pandemic.
By Fr. Bijo Thomas, Station Director, Community Radio Mattoli, Wayanad, Kerala, India.
Radio Mattoli, a community radio station in Dwaraka, located in the Wayanad district of Kerala, India, won the award for best thematic radio program by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The station was recognized for having the best quality and most relevant and timely coverage of climate mitigation and Indigenous practices out of 448 community radio stations in India. The award was presented to Radio Mattoli on July 23, 2023.
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.
