Behind the scenes, keeping up with new radio technology is a major part of the project. With the advice of Cultural Survival Technology Committee member Nathan Felde and a group of 11 technical specialists at Alfred University in New York state, we worked out a plan to test the use of new Wi-Fi antennas in Guatemala. We selected a station in Todos Santos Cuchumatan and another in San Pedro la Laguna.

Baka Gbine, a Baka Pygmy music group from southeast Cameroon, will perform for international audiences for the first time in a series of concerts scheduled for April and May in England, Survival International reports. Baka Gbine, who traditionally perform at weddings and funerals, are composed of seven male and female musicians and dancers. The group will tour with Baka Beyond, an Afro-Celtic group based in England, to promote the release of their album, Gati Bongo. The album is slated for wide release on April 24.

In the story about violence against indigenous women that appeared in the March 15 Weekly Indigenous News, the article failed to credit the international women’s human rights organization MADRE, from which much of the information was taken. Cultural Survival regrets the error. To learn more about the subject and read the original source material, visit the MADRE Web site: http://www.madre.org/

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is accepting applications for its remunerated 2006 Special Youth Program fellowship through February 17. Qualified candidates will be between the ages of 20–24, currently living in a developing nation, and will have some previous experience working on development issues. Accepted fellows will begin with a six-month fellowship at UNFPA headquarters in New York City.

The second Indigenous Peoples Summit of the Americas, hosted by the Organización de Naciones y Pueblos Indígenas en Argentina (ONPIA) and the Assembly of First Nations in Canada (AFN), took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 24-29. Indigenous groups met at the summit to draft a Declaration and Action Plan of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.

From October 20 to 24 the imagineNATIVE film festival drew hundreds of indigenous and non-indigenous film enthusiasts from around the globe to diverse downtown Toronto, Canada.

Celebrating its fifth year, participants noted that this was the most successful festival yet. The imagineNATIVE film festival is one of the few solely indigenous-run and programmed festivals in the arts community today.

Inequality in health care access and coverage has become a key issue for American Indian voters in the upcoming Presidential election on November 2.

Senator John Kerry disclosed his health policy plan on September 28 that promises to provide billions of dollars to Native American health programs if he is elected. According to Indianz.com Bush's campaign aides believe that Kerry's proposed budget for 2005 is impractical and will "break the bank."

Sunday, June 20, is World Refugee Day, as designated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Countries around the world will commemorate the day.

Wayúu indigenous people from Alta Guajira region of Colombia have asked for international help in the wake of a brutal attack on the town of Bahía Portete.

An indigenous Garo youth was killed on January 3 by forest guards during a protest of the Ministry of Environment’s Botanical Garden and Eco-Park in the Modhupur forest of the Chandranath Hills.[1] Although no specific individuals are presently accused, the Modhupur forest people blame Bangladesh Nationalist Party members for intimidating indigenous protestors from agitating against the Eco-Park.

Shopping Can Change the World!

Take the "Fair Trade Challenge" - buy ALL of your holiday gifts from Fair Trade sources!

The holiday season is upon us, and you may be wondering how to spend your dollars ethically, and ensure the gifts you give benefit those who made them as well as those who receive them. Thankfully, lots of great purchasing alternatives exist, such as fairly traded goods from around the world.

Occupying a position marked by ethnic discrimination, social exclusion and violated rights, the Batwa ‘Pygmies’ of Africa’s Great Lakes region continue to fight a battle for equality that is steadily deteriorating their society.  The Batwa, a forest hunter-gatherer group numbering approximately 70,000 to 80,000[1], are spread throughout Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Continually disabled by dominant neighbors and deforestation, today, the Batwa struggle is fu