Communication

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.

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"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.

Indigenous communities often hold invaluable knowledge about medicinal plants and healing practices rooted in the environment and resources of their traditional homelands. Anoop Pushkaran Krishnamma is working with the Kerala Kani Community Welfare Trust in partnership with Indigenous communities in India to record and preserve this knowledge, allowing for healing practices to be utilized by future generations.

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

George ‘Bic’ Manahira describes how his community established the
world's first community-run octopus, sea grass, and mangrove reserve in partnership with Blue Ventures, a UK-based NGO, in order to strengthen the traditional sea-resource-based livelihood of the coastal Indigenous communities in Madagascar. They hope to expand and improve on the model in collaboration with other Indigenous groups and leaders in the coming years.

The Kalinga Mission for Indigenous Children and Youth, led by Donato Bumacas, promotes values of biodiversity conservation, with the goal of poverty reduction. These values are upheld using Indigenous traditional knowledge systems andd technologies to conserve and maintain the local forests. Sustainable Indigenous agricultural technology is implemented, with the goal of passing these systems down to future generations, as this knowledge was passed down to them.

Avexnim Cojti (Maya K'iche') highlights the difference between consent and consultation with the help of Joan Carling, longtime advocate for Indigenous rights and former expert member to the UNPFII, in the context of decisions made by Indigenous communities regarding resource and land management. Joan explains that consent (or refusal of consent) is given at the conclusion of a process of consultation. Consultation, defined as an open, collective deliberation, is a crucial precursor to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent.

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"Yawkuchallay," by Luis Cisneros

Indigenous solidarity has coalesced into a powerful movement thanks to the activism and perseverance of Indigenous leaders from communities around the world. Indigenous leaders that are defending land, language, culture, and the environment face acute persecution, both from governments directly and from extrajudicial actors.

Radio continues to be a crucial tool for strengthening communities worldwide. Celebrate this uniquely powerful and uniting form of communication on World Radio Day, February 13th.

According to the UNDRIP, Indigenous People have the right to establish their own media in their own languages, and to have access to to all forms of non-indigenous media without discrimination (Article 16). Radio plays an especially crucial role in Indigenous communication, due to its potential to cross borders and terrain, as well as economic and social barriers.

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Vicky Tauli-Corpuz discusses the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in protecting their claim to ancestral lands in the face of government-sanctioned landgrabbing in the name of conservation.

Music: Melodies of Nepal, by classical Instrumental band Sur Sudha

IRR Producer Shaldon Ferris reports on the official statement by Vicky Tauli-Copruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, concerning the threat of the Dakota Access Pipeline to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.