 Dear Cultural Survival Community,
Sain Baina, Hundete Nuheduut! In my native language it means “Greetings, be well, dear friends.” My name is Galina Angarova, I come from the Buryat Peoples of Russia. We are an Indigenous Peoples who have lived in Siberia for millennia, on both sides of Lake Baikal.
I am deeply humbled and grateful to the Cultural Survival board and staff for appointing me as executive director. I fully understand the amount of work it takes to further raise the visibility of Indigenous Peoples, elevate their voices and their solutions to climate change, resources’ management, issues with nutrition, health, education and other burning issues on the global scale. Even though I am going to be behind the wheel, I will rely on support both within the organization and our allies in the field -- Indigenous-led organizations, NGOs, foundations, donors, and like-minded individuals. It is people like you, and your support, who make our work possible.
We live in a time of crisis — the Amazon rainforest is burning, the Taiga in Siberia is burning, ice caps in the Arctic are melting. Indigenous Peoples are at the forefront of climate change and hold the knowledge that can address and mitigate some of today’s greatest challenges. Cultural Survival is in a unique position to address these urgent issues having 47+ years of experience in the field amplifying Indigenous voices by supporting community media efforts, grassroots advocacy, and development projects that are led by Indigenous people and rooted in Indigenous knowledge.
Together, we can build a future where Indigenous Peoples lead the way towards a sustainable and prosperous existence by supporting humanity by using Indigenous traditional knowledge in many areas of human life: forest management, land management, agricultural practices, sustainable water use, traditional architecture and design, traditional medicine, creation of networks within and among communities and etc. Indigenous Peoples live in some of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet and have developed unique strategies to cope with extreme and changing environments. These are proven strategies that have worked for millennia and are the answers to our most looming threat — climate change.
We have launched the new Leadership Transition Fund to fuel our new momentum, build on our successes, and guide the organization to new work to address the realities of an ever changing world.
I invite you to join me as I start this journey as Cultural Survival’s new executive director, by donating today. Together, let’s ensure the success and longevity of Cultural Survival in supporting our Indigenous partners around the globe.
I look forward to our partnership in implementing the rights of Indigenous Peoples enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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