Communication

December 18th is International Migrants Day – in this radio program, we look at factors that cause the migration of Indigenous Peoples, and we also explore some of the impacts of migration.
We spoke to Job Morris, from the San Youth Network, who tell us about the impacts of urbanization on San communities in Botswana that have resulted because of migration. 
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan, South Africa)
Interviewee Job Morris (Ncao Khwe (San), Botswana)

Humanity NPC travelled to the home of Rooibos Tea in Wuperthal, South Africa, to talk to the Indigenous people there about the origins of the tea, and how it had been in their families for generations. This podcast also discusses the benefit sharing agreement, which promises that a benefit of the sales of the tea will go to the Indigenous Khoi and San people of the region and what it means to the people of Wuperthal.
Produced by Humanity NPC
Music by Collin Fredericks
Funded by OXFAM South Africa
Image by Tristen Taylor

In October 2020, a group of people representing different Khoi and San Tribes gathered at the foot of Table Mountain in South Africa. There they have created a cultural space where they will stay for an indefinite period of time in an effort to reclaim the mountain. With the temporary huts providing a little shelter, and fire providing a little warmth, they are making it known that the mountain and the area surrounding it had once belonged to their ancestors. Bradley van Sitters is among the folks camped out at the foot of the mountain.

For Indigenous Peoples, food security is necessary for health, and also to maintain a relationship with the earth and its resources.
What is also valuable for Indigenous Peoples is to consume culturally appropriate food. In this radio program, we speak to Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough and Carolina Behe, as we find out more about food sovereignty and food security amongst Inuit and Peoples in the Arctic.
Producer: Shaldon Ferris (KhoiSan)
Interviewees: Carolina Behe and Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough(Iñupiat)
Image: Berry picking. Photo by Chris Arend.
Music:

In Asia, the ancestral lands of many Indigenous Peoples have been cut across national borders. Since anti-terror laws and counter insurgency laws were introduced, Indigenous Peoples have been suspected of being insurgents or terrorists, and have been barred from traveling across borders to visit relatives. There should be no borders for Indigenous Peoples as they have existed in those territories long before these nation States came into being.

Governments or states make use of geographical boundaries to demarcate territories. Political entities come to agreements on which area belongs to whom. In some cases, borders are agreed upon by two countries, and in other cases it may have been suggested by a third party like an international conference.  In many cases, borders are imposed on places, without taking into consideration the people who live in that area. In this program, we speak to Aslak Holmberg from the Saami Council in Finland, who tells us how borders have affected his life, as well as his environment.

Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity. For Indigenous Peoples in many countries, radio is the most accessible platform to have their say in the languages that they speak and understand. Radio, therefore, is a fundamental means of communication for Indigenous Peoples to maintain their languages and to exercise and defend their rights. Moreover, radio is a means of ensuring the right to information in all sectors of society.

Shannon Foster is a Sydney D'harawal Knowledge Keeper, educator, and artist. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. with the Center for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges at the University of Technology in Sydney. Drawing on traditional knowledge, Indigenous leaders have advocated for changes to current land management practices for decades to help limit anticipated future fire damage. Aboriginal people have a deep knowledge of their lands, and traditional burning practices can help prevent massive destruction.

In South Africa, in November 2019, a small but significant victory has been achieved when a benefit sharing agreement was reached with the Indigenous People of South Africa. The Khoi and San people will now benefit from the multi-million rand Rooibos tea and Honeybush industries.
Only 2% of the farmers who grow the tea are from Indigenous communities. 
National KhoiSan Council chairman Cecil LeFleur talks to Indigenous Rights Radio.
Producer: Shaldon Ferris
Image: Tea
Music: Yarina, Lights in the Forrest, used with permission.

Luiz Henrique Eloy Amado is an Indigenous attorney from the Terena Peoples’ village of Ipegue, Brazil. Eloy Terena, as he is commonly known, has first-hand knowledge on the situation of Indigenous Peoples in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and an extensive experience on defending criminalized Indigenous grass-root leaders and representing Indigenous communities in land rights cases before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court.