Mastodon

indigenous cultures

Indigenous issues in the draft constitutional bill: key aspects for an informed debate

After almost a year of intense work, the Constitutional Convention has just presented the first draft of the new constitution. In the coming weeks, it will now be up to the Convention to draw up the final draft, which will…

The future of indigenous languages in our hands

All the languages bequeathed to us by the American First Nations are under threat, some more than others. In Spanish-speaking America, the overwhelming hegemony of Spanish and the monistic and homogenising vision of the states and their policies have historically…

Ibero-American Institute of Indigenous Languages launched in Bolivia

The Ibero-American Institute of Indigenous Languages (IIALI) began its activities today with the aim of confronting the threats that threaten the more than 550 indigenous languages still spoken in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as to promote their…

FROM THE FIELD: Rights of indigenous peoples highlighted in UN photo exhibit

The rights of indigenous people to make decisions about their cultural heritage and traditional way of life is being recognized in a United Nations photo exhibition. The UN estimates there are some 476 million indigenous people in more than 90…

Muslims of the Philippines: History and Culture Exhibition

While the battle in Marawi, a Muslim city in the Mindanao island, rages on with government forces fighting the Maute, a local band of ISIS extremists since May 23, 2017, a travelling exhibit showcasing Muslim history and culture has quietly…

One Earth: Why the World Needs Indigenous Communities to Steward Their Lands

By Manipadma Jena “Showing them a picture-book crow, I intone ‘kaak’ in Bengali, the State language. While others repeat in chorus, the tribal Santhali first-graders respond with a blank look. They know the crow only as ‘koyo’. They’ll happily roll…