Investing in Indigenous Rights is an Investment for Us All
Eleven years ago today, on December 16, 2010, President Obama announced that the United States would "lend its support" to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
"The aspiration it affirms," Obama said, "including the respect for the institutions and rich cultures of Native Peoples, are one we must always seek to fulfill...I want to be clear: what matters far more than words, what matters far more than any resolution or declaration, are actions to match those words."
With your support, Cultural Survival works towards making the rights in the Declaration a reality every day, while investing in the leadership of Indigenous women and youth through our programs, advocacy, Indigenous-led grantmaking, and partnerships with Indigenous communities around the world.
Our programs work in tandem to achieve various goals in the Declaration:
-
Our Community Media Program aims to make Article 16, the right to Indigenous-controlled media, a reality, through financial, technical, and training support to Indigenous community radio stations.
-
Our Advocacy Program uses international human rights mechanisms to bring global attention to situations where governments and corporations have violated Indigenous rights, including the implementation of Articles 10, 11, 19, 28, and 29, focusing on Indigenous self-determination, participation in decision-making, and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
-
Our Indigenous Rights Radio Program and our Cultural Survival Quarterly magazine promote Indigenous voices, solutions, and languages, working to fulfill Article 13.
-
Our Bazaar Program focuses on sustainable livelihoods, traditional artistic expression, and cultural heritage, working to fulfill Articles 11, 21, and 31.
- Our grantmaking programs, Keepers of the Earth Fund and Indigenous Community Media Fund, are Indigenous Led Funds that support grassroots solutions to issues affecting communities, fulfilling Articles 3 and 4.
- Across all our programs, we promote the leadership of Indigenous women and youth, realizing Articles 21 and 22.
Cultural Survival is one of a few global Indigenous rights organizations, and our nearly 50-year legacy of this work is possible because of partners like you. Your investment is vital in our success to implement the rights enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Join Cultural Survival by committing to promoting Indigenous rights by making a financial gift today! Do not miss our matching challenge! Thanks to a generous long-time donor, all gifts up to $10,000 made now until December 17, 2021, will be matched dollar for dollar! Don't miss this chance to double your impact!
|
|
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Wampum Belt
We also want to share with you the incredible work of Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag) and human rights lawyer Michelle Cook (Diné) on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples wampum belt. Indigenous artist and advocate Hartman Deetz looks to his ancestors, to his past, to “wampum” the ancient tool of art, law, ritual, and diplomacy to find guidance and ways forward for his people. The UNDRIP wampum belt is a means of teaching Indigenous human rights using and centering Indigenous Peoples' technology and pedagogical legal practices with wampum as both the medium and the message of accountability, healing, and change. Listen to our Indigenous Rights Radio podcast with Deetz and Cook.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|