We agreed to meet at a linguistics conference in the city of Salta. Our common interests were joining the sessions on glottopolitics and sociolinguistics and scant opportunities to discuss current research on the country’s indigenous languages. We wondered whether the topic had made it on the research and academic linguistic event’s agenda, after the United…
The significance of democratic elections in 2020 for indigenous peoples go beyond electoral results. Wavering between the need for sovereignty/self-determination and democratic participation, indigenous people are finding themselves in places of power denied to them historically. After hundreds of years of noncitizenry, indigenous plurinational states are now shaping democracy. Below we summarize some of the…
FROM THE EDITORS: An impressive coalition of Mapuche, Kerwen, Aymara, Quechua, Likan Antai, Colla, and Kawesqar indigenous peoples in Chile has launched a call for the lack of specialized attention for Original Communities suffering from COVID-19, who are also leading a historic fight against extractive-development projects imposed by various governments and the militarization of their…
Voluntary self-isolation has been practiced for millennia by uncontacted peoples, so as not to be victims of the devastating consequences of Western civilization and progress. Several intergovernmental organizations have recognized this legal right and survival strategy of peoples to protect their land and territory, as a way of protecting themselves against genocide, colonization, and the…
How to survive discrimination and bring life in the midst of the pandemic SOURCE: Presentes Agency Photos: Josean Rivera/Archivo Presentes A round of applause surprised her completely. They could be heard outside their house, but they sounded very close. Claudia Ancapán Quilape did not expect it, but those of the night of April 7 were…
FROM THE EDITORS: Due to its geographical location, right in Ona-sin land (Tierra del Fuego), the Selk’nam People’s contact with the white man was marked by the forced transit of explorers and traders. Newcomers hunted local fauna to the point of extinction, species on which the Ona People depended on for sustenance. In the late…
Musical expressions are liberating and help build resilience. Some musical expressions have managed to unleash social change and others, to shape identities and resistance, but above all music is contributing significantly to keeping Native languages and expressions alive. Indigenous languages are living, active languages that grow and are renewed, for example, when young people take…
SOURCE: Periódico Fewla (independent Mapuche community newspaper), translated to English by Awasqa. Photos and video: Radio Kvrruf The call for action represents the support of the Lof [community leaders] and communities in resistance, and of the different Mapuche organizations, to the process of mobilization of the Chilean society that seeks for equity and justice. The…