Communication

Indigenous Peoples from around the world represent a disproportionate number of refugees and internally displaced persons due to a number of reasons, including conflict. They are one of the main targets of violence, displacing them from their ancestral land and territories. Vulnerability to displacement as an intersectional issue is often overlooked, a situation that has further increased the vulnerability of these populations. This radio program recounts the experience of Nwe Oo, an Indigenous Rakhine refugee who is currently taking shelter in California, United States.

West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly known as Dutch New Guinea. A 13-year dispute with the Netherlands over whether the former Dutch colony would become an independent state or an Indonesian province culminated in 1962 in its annexation by force by the Indonesian military and the denial of the right of self-determination to its people, who today identify as over 50% Indigenous West Papuan. Our producers interviewed John Anari and Les Malazer for the latest information on the process of recognition of sovereignty for Indigenous West Papuan communities.

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