Self-Determination

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

PRODUCTION
Shaldon Ferris (KhoiSan)

Migrant families from Central America and elsewhere have had to endure being separated. Foster homes and shelters has become the temporary home to many of the kids, some of them being toddlers. Bureaucratic errors could leave the government officials unaware that a child’s parent is in the U.S. What happens when the parents cannot speak English or Spanish?
Resources
intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-im…t-the-border/
Interviewees:

Indigenous Rights Radio Program on a case where  the Newar indigenous community in Nepal obtained a victory in their legal battle against the government after about 7 years of continuous struggle.

Interviewees: Advocate Shankar Limbu

Music: Remember your children: by Solidummay.

Introductory Music: "Burn Your Village to the Ground" by A Tribe Called Red. Used with permission.

Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, conducted an official visit to Guatemala, a country where 61 to 65% of population identify as Indigenous. Shaldon Ferris interviewed her about her visit.

MUSIC
"Whispers" by Ziibiwan. Used with permission.
Indigenous Rights Radio Intro track features "Burn your Village to the Ground" by @a-tribe-called-red. Used with permission.

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.

Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, visited several states in Mexico to report on progress made in areas of Indigenous rights since her predecessor's trip to the country in 2003. Though the Mexican government has not fulfilled the majority of recommendations made by the former UNSR, Tauli-Corpuz notes the empowerment of autonomous municipalities since 2003 as an improvement over previous years.