By Lucas Kasosi (Maasai, CS Intern)

A solemn procession moved through the new city center of Kiruna, Sweden. Sámi youth and members from the Gabna and Laevas reindeer herding communities walked in silence, carrying an ackja, a traditional Sámi sled, along the path their ancestors once followed with migrating reindeer. At the heart of Europe’s transition to a so-called “green economy,” they were not celebrating progress, but mourning land already lost to a century of mining. They were also raising their voices against future exploitation.

Creativity and craftsmanship are forms of resistance, memory, and collective healing in many Indigenous communities. Traditional art revitalizes ancestral knowledge and strengthens the social fabric, showcasing community knowledge as a tool for transformation in harmony with Mother Earth. In 2024, Cultural Survival supported two projects in Guatemala through our Indigenous Youth Fellowship program, where creativity, craftsmanship, and ancestral revival are acts of resistance and hope.

By Ella Nathanael Alkiewicz (Labrador Inuk)

Five percent of Canada’s total population is Indigenous. Canadian Inuit, First Nations, and Métis are living, working, buying, and being alongside settlers, four-leggeds, winged-ones, and fins with the flora and fauna.