"In my 12 years of being involved in community radio, I had never had the opportunity to produce my own radio spots. This was a task always performed by men, so I came to think that it was something complicated. Now after participating in this workshop I learned not only radio production but I also realize that there is nothing a woman cannot do,” said Petronila “Nila” Ch'umilkaj Tax of Radio La Niña in Totonicapán, Guatemala.
Radio Xilotepek, an Indigenous community radio station that has served the San Luis Jilotepeque community in Jalapa, Guatemala for over 13 years is a crucial source of information on Free, Prior and Informed Consent regarding the growth of extractive industries such as mining in the area.
On September 7-9, 2017, the second meeting of the Central American Network of Indigenous Community Radios, of which Cultural Survival is part, took place in Granada, Nicaragua. Members met to discuss next steps of the network and released the the following statement.
Unifying Communication Work in the Region
BY TURTLE LODGE STAFF
“The longest journey we will ever make as human beings is the journey from the mind to the heart,” said Indigenous knowledge keeper, Chief Darrell Bob of the St’at’imc Nation, as he challenged top North American scientists to step outside of their academic framework and enter into the world of Indigenous Peoples.
Cultural Survival is pleased to announce the Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) Call for Applications. The KOEF is a small grants fund that supports Indigenous values-based community development. These grants have supported Indigenous-led projects on the leading edge of solutions to the most pressing issues for Indigenous Peoples everywhere.
Without electricity or a telephone signal in the vicinity, a community radio station was almost an impossible dream for the Lenca people of Azacualpa, an Indigenous community of Yamaranguila in Intibucá, Honduras, who believed that as an impoverished community, no one would be interested in assisting them in setting up a radio station.
By John McPhaul
In October 2016, a number of Costa Rican Indigenous representatives attended a meeting in the regional hub of Buenos Aires in southern Costa Rica. Called by the government’s Ministry of the Presidency as part of a consultation process, the meeting was an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to voice their opposition to a giant dam proposed on the Diquis Reservoir that would inundate part of their land.