By Erica Belfi
Cultural Survival denounces the recent a Moscow court decision made on November 6, 2019, to close the Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (CSIPN), an independent organization of Indigenous Peoples, which has been defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples of Russia for almost 20 years by providing informational, educational, expert and legal support to Indigenous representatives at all levels. The decision is another case of rights violations and pressure by the Russian government on Indigenous Peoples.
In June 2019, Dmitry Berezhkov and Pavel Sulyandziga authored a report titled, “Acts of intimidation, criminalization and other types of activities with the aim to prevent human rights work of Indigenous activists in Russia.” Berezhkov is the director at Arctic Consult, a database of documentation that Indigenous Peoples have compiled about their rights on land, resources, and self-determination.
Threats have been renewed against the Ukok Plateau and the Golden Mountains of Altai UNESCO World Heritage site, where the Indigenous Telengit people of Russia have long lived with respect for the land and its natural riches. Valdimir Putin announced in early September that Russia and China would revive a project in which a gas pip
By Gleb Raygorodetsky
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
