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Dear Friend,
I want to take this opportunity to share with you an update on our COVID-19 response at Cultural Survival.
Since 2005, Cultural Survival has been supporting Indigenous community radio stations in the efforts to assert their rights to freedom of expression. Indigenous community radio stations are often the only lifelines during emergencies and they have proven to be essential in providing these communities with urgent information about the pandemic in Indigenous languages. 2020 has taught us, yet again, that knowledge is power, and our partners on the ground are ensuring that their communities are informed on the changes surrounding COVID-19 through their community radio stations.
- We recently supported 20 Indigenous radio stations in Costa Rica, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua through our Community Media Grants Program. These radio stations are urgently creating and distributing numerous radio programs about COVID-19 prevention, food sovereignty, community health, social aid, economy and entrepreneurship.
 Additionally, we just released a Prevention Manual for Indigenous Community Radio Stations. This is a toolkit that Indigenous community journalists and radio operators can utilize as they address COVID-19 and share important information in their communities. Currently, it is available in Spanish and will soon be translated into English and an additional 20 Indigenous languages to start.
We firmly believe that Indigenous community radio stations’ role is to inform and disseminate culturally and linguistically relevant information to reduce the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to supporting Indigenous radio journalists and broadcasters around the world, who are making extraordinary efforts to keep their communities safe every day. The political climate in these countries oftentimes does not respect the right to freedom of expression or access to important information, and as a result these journalists and broadcasters are risking their lives to ensure their communities are informed and safe.
In the United States, we are lucky to be able to turn on our televisions to watch the news or read articles on our smartphones. Something that has become second nature for us, is not the reality for Indigenous communities globally. While radio stations in developed countries like the U.S. are no longer the primary source of information, however, Indigenous Peoples across the globe still use radio as their essential form of communication and information sharing.
These are just a few of the actions we are taking to support our grassroots partners to protect their people, cultures, lands and territories. At Cultural Survival, we have dedicated the last 48 years to partnering with Indigenous communities across the world to assert their rights in protecting their lands, territories, and natural resources. We remain committed to Indigenous Peoples -- but we need your donation to continue this work.
Join us in this grassroots movement to ensure that Indigenous Peoples have access to quality, credible and culturally relevant information. We rely on our community to continue our grassroots work. If you are able, please make a financial gift to Cultural Survival today so we can continue to provide life-saving assistance to Indigenous communities across the world. We deeply appreciate your allyship and your continued partnership to stand up for Indigenous rights! We are all in this fight together, and we are proud to stand alongside you.
In solidarity and gratitude,
 
Galina Angarova (Buryat)
Executive Director
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P.S. We have added more languages to our growing list of PSAs on COVID-19 in Indigenous languages - please share!
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Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience since 1972. We envision a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.
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