The Deatnu River flows between Finland and Norway and into the Atlantic Ocean. Alongside it lies Veahčak, a small Saami village. Fishing for North Atlantic salmon in the Deatnu River is the core of Saami culture in the Deatnu Valley and it has provided a livelihood for local Saamis since time immemorial. Fish define their …
Threat to Customary Land Use Curtails Saami Rights Leer más »
The Nuba people in Sudan inhabit the Nuba Mountains which have been ravaged with war and political issues in recent times. Against this backdrop, the Delibaya Nuba Women Development Organization (DNWDO) initiated a project to ensure the retention of their language that would be passed on to future generations. Their main mode of learning is …
Mt. Kinabalu is held sacred by the indigenous peoples of Sabah in Malaysia. They believe the mountain is where the souls of their departed rest before ascending to higher realms. The mountain was also the epicentre of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 in June 2015. Aside from the physical damage, the earthquake caused …
“I was part of the Chico Dams struggle from the 1970s to the 1980s. The mighty river would not be flowing freely today had we not opposed the project. The communities and farmlands would have been inundated without our fierce opposition. Today, the Chico River is still targeted for a series of hydropower projects. We …
Indigenous Institutions as Pillars for Leadership and Self-Determination Leer más »
The Boran Waso peoples live in Northern Kenya. Traditional healing is one facet of their culture and medicinal plants abound in their pastoralist communities. To revitalize this tradition and sustain the environment from which they derive their healing resources, the Faiya Women’s Group embarked on a project that mapped the whereabouts of their healers and …
The Boran Waso Traditional Healing Revives a Culture Leer más »
The Chin Hills Regulation (1896) was the basis of the enactment of the Chin Act in 1948 which was also the year of Burma’s Independence. The enactment was to recognize and promote the Chin traditional customs and culture. After 65 years, the State Assembly of Chin State (Union of Burma) initiated a review of the …
The Miskitu people’s ancestral territory in the North Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua is a site of magic and wisdom. Here, Avelino Cox, a native of the Wangky or Coco River, was born. As a boy, he accompanied his grandparents all over the territory where he heard stories and learned about the life and traditions of …
To sow the seeds of cultural awareness among the children is to prepare them to stand firmly on their tradition and indigenous identity. This is what the Partnership for Culture-creating Schools of Altai in Russia embarked on with their Education Through Action project which focused on the sacred Karakol Valley. Through a film showing (“Standing …
“This is the project that I have been waiting for so long!” Mrs. Peenee Moonkul, a Karen leader and Chairperson of a weaving group in Maewang district, Chiang Mai, Thailand expressed the sentiments of the participants in the project of the Indigenous Women’s Network in Thailand (IWNT) which aimed to highlight indigenous knowledge designed and …
Indigenous Knowledge is Woven by Women in Traditional Handicrafts Leer más »
“It is worth dreaming of,” were the thoughts of the Palotes of Quechua, Aymara and Shipibo indigenous groups and members of a network of Indigenous Youth. They had experienced and suffered discrimination for speaking, dressing, dancing, singing or eating differently. In one of the last meetings of the network, they had expressed, “Our vision, conviction …