On June 23, 2014, 7 Toj in the Mayan calendar, Indigenous groups from all over Guatemala took part in national protests and roadblocks to bring attention to the continued discrimination and injustice faced by the Indigenous Peoples of Guatemala. Among the main priorities on the list of grievances were the discriminatory telecommunications laws and the mining and hydroelectric companies exploiting Indigenous territories.
Through a generous donation by the Swift Foundation, Cultural Survival had the pleasure of providing equipment to eight Guatemalan community radios in need. On May 3rd and 4th, our entire community radio program team went on a journey to the first four community radios in the south west part of the country to deliver computers and consoles to radios most in need.
On May 10, 2013, Guatemalan ex-dictator Jose Efraín Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity in an historic case. This victory occurred after an unwarranted suspension of the trial and many other delay tactics utilized by Montt’s representation.
The following is an intervention by Alma Temaj and Alberto Recinos of Guatemala at the 13th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
By Ishmael Hope, Sealaska Heritage Institute
“Át Khuwaháa haa yoo xh’atángi wutusaneixhí.” “The moment has come for us to save our language.”– Joe Hotch, Gooxh Daakashú
By Ava Berinstein
When I first began my journey, it was 36 years ago. There, in the highlands of Guatemala, in the region of Alta Verapaz where Q’eqchi’ is spoken and traditional Maya ways are (still) practiced, and the mountains are alive...there, in the “land of the true peace,” (Jessup and Simpson, 1936); that is where my journey began.
La Buena Gobernanza y los medios de comunicación de los pueblos indígenas de Guatemala
On Saturday, May 3, 2014, our Community Radio Project team in Guatemala had the pleasure of visiting Radio San José, of San José, San Marcos, to deliver funds that we raised to help their community radio get back on the air.
As the date of the 13th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues quickly approaches, our Guatemalan team is preparing to travel to New York to participate in the event. Cesar Gomez, Tino Recinos, and Rosy Gonzalez have received their visas and are ready to represent the Guatemalan Indigenous Community Radio Movement among Indigenous peers from all over the globe.
On April 7, 2014, in a magistrate courtroom in Nanyuki, Kenya, Samburu community members and their supporters battling for their land rights in Laikipia went head to head with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), President Moi, and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) as they attempted to restore the criminal case against the Samburu tribe. Those in attendance were a number of Samburu elders, Lempaa Suyianka for Katiba Institute, Ngigi for Prof Yash, and Carol Mburugu for Kituo Cha Sharia.
By Ryann Dear
“Freedom of speech,” said Eduardo Laroj, a station volunteer and DJ for Fiesta en mi pueblo, a program that broadcasts marimba orchestras. Laroj’s statement started the discussion on station objectives at a meeting in Sumpango, Guatemala on Saturday, March 8, 2014.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
