Traditional knowledge is rooted in Indigenous lifeways and relationships with the environment and is valuable not only to Indigenous Peoples, but to all societies. It must be protected and supported and emphasis must be placed in transmitting Indigenous knowledge to future generations. It is no coincidence that 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity is found on Indigenous territories. Indigenous languages, skills, and techniques provide valuable information to the global community and serve as a useful model for solutions to contemporary issues.  

LaDonna “Good Earth Woman” Brave Bull Allard (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)

Baitz Niahosa (Tsou), Taiwan

Elifuraha Laltaika, Tanzania, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Member

Barsha Lekhi (Tharu), Nepal, Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme’s National Fellow

Raja Devashis Roy (Chakma), Bangladesh, Former UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Member

Kenneth Deer (Mohawk Nation, Canada) 

Ben Ruli (Gimi), Indigenous Peoples Fellow from Papua New Guinea, UNDP Implemented Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme

Les Malezer (Gabi Gabi/Butchulla), UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Member

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Igorot), UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Moisés Alberto Villafaña Izquierdo (Arhuaco)

The conch shell is a tool that has been used by the Maya for generations to invite people to attend a community meeting where they may express their concerns or opinions towards any public decision. We have symbolically adapted this practice for the Sounding of the Conch Shell Youth Camp, conceived by young Maya organizers from the Julian Cho Society. The Julian Cho Society is a nongovernmental organization devoted to Indigenous rights through research, education, and advocacy in southern Belize, and also is a Keepers of the Earth Fund grant partner.