Communication

A short update on current events from around the world on the topic of Indigenous Rights.

PRODUCTION
Shaldon Ferris (KhoiSan)

Between 1904 and 2004, the German state officially denied that genocide against the Indigenous Herero and Nama people in land that is now known as Namibia had ever occurred under German colonial rule, despite conclusive historical sources and internationally recognized investigations. Hear how communities are sorting through the painful legacy of this violence and indifference in the present in the following interview with Martinus Fredericks, Nama leader and activist.

This year's theme for conversations at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was "Indigenous Peoples Collective Rights to Lands and Resources". Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Igorot Kankanaey, Philippines), UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues, says that the theme connects to many important conversations happening now in the world, including the threat that extractive industries pose to resources located on Indigenous-owned territories.

A short update on current events from around the world on the topic of Indigenous Rights.

INTERVIEWEES
Braidan Weeks, Communications Coordinator for Utah Diné Bikéyah

PRODUCTION
Shaldon Ferris (KhoiSan)

This is a production of Indigenous Rights Radio. All of our programs are free to download and broadcast.

The reduction in size of the Bears Ears National Monument by the Trump Administration runs contrary to the principles established in Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We spoke to Braidan Weeks, the Communications Coordinator for Utah Diné Bikéyah, about the importance of Bears Ears, the unlawfulness of the actions taken by the Trump administration, and the advocacy currently underway to defend the monument led by the Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition.

Indigenous South Africans go on a yearly 400 mile pilgrimage to bring awareness to ongoing violations of basic human rights of South Africans, the withholding of remains and sacred items belonging to Indigenous communities by museums, as well as to reconnect to the earth and environment through the rigorous journey from coast to coast. We spoke to two South African Indigenous rights activists to hear their takes on how this tradition has shaped their activism.

Music
"Xul Kej" by Sotz'il. Used with permission.

It was the Wampanoag People, the people of the first light, that encountered the Pilgrims when they arrived to Turtle Island (North America) from Europe in 1620. Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a national holiday in the United States, mythologizing the violent events that followed European arrival into a story of friendship and mutual sharing. But the reality is that the Wampanoags’ generosity was met with genocide, and this truth has been systematically suppressed in the US education system, government, and popular culture.

A close relationship with local environments and ecosystems is more critical than ever in the face of a rapidly changing climate. This program features two perspectives from Indigenous communities that are practicing resiliency to global warming by adapting their traditional knowledge and science to put a changing climate into the context of their communities' history and lifeways.

INTERVIEWEES
Elizabeth Azzuz (Yurok), Cultural Fire Management Council
Jannie Staffansson (Saami), Arctic and Environment Unit of the Saami Council

Indigenous communities in Honduras have stewarded the Muskitia, a rain forest which includes one of the richest concentrations of biodiversity in the world, for centuries. Osvaldo Munguia is a representative of MOPAWI, an organization that partners with Indigenous groups to protect this UNESCO world heritage site from being overtaken by logging, mining, and forestry business interests.

MUSIC
"Remember Your Children," by Salidummay. Used with permission.
Introduction: "Burn Your Village to the Ground" by A Tribe Called Red. Used with permission.

Lakes and forests in the Mt. Talinis area of the Phillipines are under threat from recent expansions of the energy industry. Apolinario Carino is working with the organization PENAGMANNAK, a federation of 17 Indigenous Peoples’ community groups, to pioneer community management strategies of reforestation designed to empower the Indigenous groups to shape the future of their lands. Apolinario hopes to share the knowledge that they have gained from these experiences in order to better combat climate change on a global scale.