Each year, August 9 is commemorated as International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Across the globe, and here at home, indigenous people are grappling with the effects of industrialized societies’ encroachment on their land. For tribal people especially, the denial of their land is a denial of their basic human rights, because all too often it can spell cultural genocide.
It was in response to such atrocities that a group of activists created Survival International: a non-profit organization that has been advocating on behalf of tribal people since 1969. Recently they unveiled Tribal Voice; a project that empowers tribal people to expose what is happening in their communities.
“We’ve given several communities in Brazil filming equipment and Wi-Fi devices to film the abuses and tell their own stories themselves,” explained Tesia Bobrycki, a spokesperson for Survival International.
The videos are sent to Survival via Wi-Fi, translated, and then sent out to subscribers around the globe.
“This is absolutely incredible,” added Bobrycki. “For one, it increases the pressure on governments to act when they can see the abuses and hear directly from the tribes – with no third party, no intermediary.”
“There’s something more raw and more urgent there.”
Survival International believes that these videos will also serve to humanize indigenous people and to dispel preconceived notions about their lives.
“It demonstrates how these people are not too different from us; often, their main concern is what kind of future will be left for their children.”
In South America in particular, many tribes are being forced out of their lands by ranchers and illegal logging. And for uncontacted tribes – tribes who choose not to have contact with the outside world – there is a real risk that contact with industrialized societies could wipe them out, either as a result of violence or through exposure to viruses for which tribal people have no acquired immunity. It’s not uncommon for these tribes to see half their population wiped out within a year of contact.
Over the years, Survival International has lobbied governments to protect tribal lands and recognize tribal rights, including the right for tribes to decide whether or not to live in isolation. The organization frequently calls upon its supporters to amplify its voice by writing letters to decision-makers.
“These letters are incredibly important,” stressed Bobrycki. “A key example happened just last year, when one of the world’s most vulnerable tribe, the Awá in Brazil, was on the brink of extinction – of annihilation.”
Survival International launched a campaign asking its supporters to write to the Brazilian government and to take photos with their campaign icon. In the end, more than 57,000 people emailed the government.
Bobrycki calls the campaign “an unprecedented victory”. As a result, the Brazilian government led a massive operation to expel illegal loggers and invaders from the Awá’s central territory, thus securing the land and, ultimately, the Awá’s future.
“That was a direct result of our supporters – of their emails, of their letters, of their photos. It couldn’t have been done without them.”
You can find out more about the work of Survival International and ways you can take action at survivalinternational.org. To subscribe to the Tribal Voice video distribution list, go to tribal-voice.org.
A note about the Awá: while the expulsion of illegal loggers and invaders from the Awá’s central territory was a clear victory, the tribe’s other territories continue to be invaded. Survival International is urging the Brazilian government to take urgent action to protect all tribal lands and their people.
Finally, an informal group of CAPE members has been meeting to discuss reconciliation and Aboriginal issues. If you’re interested in joining, please contact us.
