"In my 12 years of being involved in community radio, I had never had the opportunity to produce my own radio spots. This was a task always performed by men, so I came to think that it was something complicated. Now after participating in this workshop I learned not only radio production but I also realize that there is nothing a woman cannot do,” said Petronila “Nila” Ch'umilkaj Tax of Radio La Niña in Totonicapán, Guatemala.

The celebration of Columbus Day for the past century in the US has perpetuated a narrative that glorifies a Eurocentric world view, while allowing us to ignore a history of violence and oppression towards Indigenous individuals throughout Turtle Island/Abya Yala, lands which were mistakenly referred to by Columbus as "The New World."

Radio Xilotepek, an Indigenous community radio station that has served the San Luis Jilotepeque community in Jalapa, Guatemala for over 13 years is a crucial source of information on Free, Prior and Informed Consent regarding the growth of extractive industries such as mining in the area.

On September 7-9, 2017, the second meeting of the Central American Network of Indigenous Community Radios, of which Cultural Survival is part, took place in Granada, Nicaragua. Members met to discuss next steps of the network and released the the following statement.

Unifying Communication Work in the Region 

BY TURTLE LODGE STAFF

“The longest journey we will ever make as human beings is the journey from the mind to the heart,” said Indigenous knowledge keeper, Chief Darrell Bob of the St’at’imc Nation, as he challenged top North American scientists to step outside of their academic framework and enter into the world of Indigenous Peoples.

On August 25th, 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination released its Concluding Observations on Canada’s periodic review at its 93rd session, condemning the state’s violation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Deadline: October 27, 2017
Keepers of the Earth Fund

Cultural Survival is pleased to announce the Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) Call for Applications. The KOEF is a small grants fund that supports Indigenous values-based community development.  These grants have supported Indigenous-led projects on the leading edge of solutions to the most pressing issues for Indigenous Peoples everywhere.  

On August 2, 2017, one of Cultural Survival’s partner radio stations, Radio Jolom Konob’ of Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, hosted the visit of Jesus Orozco, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, both from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. The Rapporteurs came to listen to the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights violations in the region.

Without electricity or a telephone signal in the vicinity, a community radio station was almost an impossible dream for the Lenca people of Azacualpa, an Indigenous community of Yamaranguila in Intibucá, Honduras, who believed that as an impoverished community, no one would be interested in assisting them in setting up a radio station.

By Rawiri Taonui

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007). Indigenous Peoples have come a long way. Our individual struggles coalesced during the 1970s in the Indigenous-initiated World Council of Indigenous Peoples. A decade of consultation and negotiation through the United Nations culminated in a first draft. Some of those who had worked on the draft lost their lives in struggles at home.