Dear Cultural Survival Community,
After an incredible year of hard work and deep impact, I am excited to share Cultural Survival’s 2024 Annual Report with you!
I’m feeling tremendous gratitude reflecting on 2024. Since joining Cultural Survival as Executive Director on July 1, 2024, I have been fortunate to meet and work with amazing people across our community who make our work possible, including our board and staff, donors, supporters, interns, fellows, volunteers, and our partners from Indigenous communities and the organizations working in solidarity with them. Our community is so inspiring! For me, it’s an honor to serve a strong, Indigenous-led organization that centers the rights, self-determination, political resilience, cosmovisions, cultures, and community well-being of Indigenous Peoples. It’s been a pleasure to experience people’s enthusiasm and appreciation for Cultural Survival wherever I go. Our work is being recognized because we are creating a positive impact for Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
We are happy to share some highlights of our achievements in 2024 in this annual report. Whether through Grantmaking, Capacity building, Advocacy, Communications, or our Indigenous arts bazaars, we continue to work in solidarity with and support Indigenous communities. Most importantly, these accomplishments are built on something much harder to measure—the foundation of strong relationships with Indigenous communities and all of you who make up the Cultural Survival community.
This report highlights the various levels of impact Cultural Survival is making around the globe and exemplifies our commitment to creating 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.
Thanks to our funders and supporters like you, in 2024, we accomplished the following:
- Indigenous Community Media Fund supported 57 community media projects in 27 countries, totaling $480,000
- Awarded 26 Youth Fellowships to Indigenous youth in 18 countries
- 46 Indigenous women participated in workshops and exchanges, including training in radio production and proposal writing
- Supported 83 Keepers of the Earth Fund projects in 25 countries, totaling $614,222
- Released 174 Indigenous Rights Radio programs in 30 languages
- Submitted 4 reports to 4 UN mechanisms on human rights issues
- Provided $32,700 in urgent funding for 6 Indigenous rights defenders in need of urgent support
- Visited 50 community partners in 9 countries.
- Held 3 Cultural Survival Bazaars that hosted 43 vendors, impacting the lives of over 4,000 Indigenous people representing 55 Indigenous communities globally
We are extremely thankful for both our new supporters and long-time donor partners and your ongoing dedication and commitment to upholding Indigenous rights, especially in this tumultuous time in the world. We shall remain while politicians and empires come and go. Indigenous Peoples carry the knowledge systems of our ancestors on how to live sustainably in relationship with each other and Mother Earth…and how to survive catastrophe. Our lifeways and values, rooted in environmental stewardship, community, and mutual aid, hold solutions to the world’s biggest crises – climate change, ecocide, biodiversity collapse, social and economic inequity, and injustice. It is through your financial support and generous donations that make our work possible.
Donate generously to help us continue this crucial work. Thank you!
Hטchi yakoke li hoke (I thank you all so much),
Aimee Roberson (Choctaw and Chickasaw)
Executive Director
