States Fail to Adequately Address Climate Change: An Indigenous Peoples’ Analysis of COP26 Decisions
Proyecto “Entrenando Mujeres Indígenas para la Defensa de sus Derechos Humanos”
Guatemala, México y Honduras
ÚLTIMA FECHA PARA APLICAR: 22 DE ENERO DE 2021
Sobre la organización y el proyecto
One year ago, on December 15, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that the United States would “lend its support” to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “The aspiration it affirms,” he said, “including the respect for the institutions and rich cultures of Native peoples, are one we must always seek to fulfill.”
In the shadow of the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001, many people failed to recognize another significant event. Four years ago, on September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly signed into existence the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
At Cultural Survival, we recognize the importance of Indigenous media as platforms through which Indigenous Peoples share their stories, struggles, knowledge, and visions for the future. This media is essential for amplifying their voices, preserving their memory, and ensuring the continuity of their Traditional Knowledge.
The Kichwa, Waorani, Sápara, Andwa, Achuar, Shiwiar, and Shuar Indigenous Peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon face grave threats to their territories due to the advancement of oil bidding rounds—specifically the Ronda Sur Oriente (Southeastern Round) and Ronda Subandina (Sub-Andean Round)—promoted by the Ecuadorian State. These initiatives seek to auction off 11 oil blocks to companies and investors, blocks that overlap with ancestral Indigenous territories.
By Edson Krenak (Krenak, CS Staff)
Indigenous Peoples worldwide bring vital perspectives on development, human rights, and the responsibilities of the States and corporations in the green economy. Rooted in deep relationships with lands, waters, forests, and more-than-human lives, these perspectives offer essential pathways for addressing the climate crisis, for example.
By Verónica Aguilar (Mixteca, CS Staff)
In keeping with its commitment to Indigenous Peoples in the defense and preservation of their knowledge, cultures, and worldviews, Cultural Survival employs various approaches to support Indigenous communities in strengthening their languages. Within this framework, the third Language Projects Gathering was held in Cieneguilla, Peru, from February 28 to March 2, 2026.
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.
