6 Things to Do on International Women's Day

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day (#IWD), first celebrated in 1909. While too many women all over the word still suffer from violence and rights abuses, it is important to recognize the amazing work Indigenous women are doing to make change happen. They are movement builders, system shakers, stewards of ecosystems, community caretakers and working towards a transformative, equitable, and just future for all of our relations.

On this International Women's Day stand in solidarity with women as they fight to assert their rights. Join us in this action to honor, uplift, and resource Indigenous women's leadership, so that next year we will have even more to celebrate!

1. Read our issues of the Cultural Survival Quarterly devoted to Indigenous women.

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2. Celebrate some of the amazing Indigenous women working to make change happen around the world. Share their inspiring stories #IWD2021 #IndigenousWomenRising

Lukretia Booysen (Khoena) is founder and curator of the Koena Art Institute in Cape Town, South Africa.

Chenae Bullock (Shinnecock/ Montauk) is an entrepreneur who is deeply passionate about her Indigenous heritage.

Donatila Girón Calix (Lenca)'s activism is marked by her emphasis on recovering Indigenous identities and practices in the defense of the environment and human rights in Honduras.

Chef Crystal Wahpepah’s (Kickapoo) love for cooking Indigenous foods and work towards food sovereignty goes back 25 years. En español

Pat Dudgeon (Bardi) has dedicated her life to preventing suicide in Indigenous communities. En español

Pratima Gurung (Gurung) working for the inclusion of Indigenous women with disabilities. En español

Kera Sherwood-O’Regan's (Māori) work focuses on bridging Indigenous Peoples’ rights, the rights of people with disabilities, and climate change and health. En español

Keepers of the Earth Fund Grant Partner, Eastern Woodlands Rematriation (EWR) is working to sustain the spiritual foundation of Indigenous livelihoods through Indigenous food and agroecological systems. En español

Milena Rodríguez (Chorotega) is an educator and human ecologist by profession with a great passion for her ancestral roots. En español

3. Listen and share podcasts by and about Indigenous women.
The perspectives and inclusion of Indigenous women is essential to gender equality worldwide. Using community radio as a tool, we invite you to celebrate Women's Day by bringing Indigenous women's perspectives to the airwaves. The following programs are free for you to listen to, download, and broadcast! Access more here.

Finding Balance - An Interview With Jannie Staffansson
To achieve gender equity, women need to be at every table where decisions are made. In this podcast, we speak to Jannie Staffansson (Saami), a renowned Indigenous climate change expert and a Cultural Survival board member. Staffansson tells us about balancing traditional lifeways today.

The Sacred Feminine
There are many issues that Cultural Survival has covered and fought for as an organization over the past 49 years, but one thing that stands out for our Executive Director Galina Angarova, and is very close to her heart, is the topic of the sacred feminine.

Indigenous Women Changemakers: Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Igorot Kankanaey, Philippines), a long-time activist and former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, shares her experience with successes of small, local groups reaching out to the international community to collaborate in better defending their rights.

Zero Discrimination Against Women
In this program we pay homage to Xoroxloo Duxee, an Indigenous woman from Botswana who died from starvation and dehydration because access to a water well in the desert had been restricted.

Indigenous Women Changemakers: Joan Carling
Joan Carling (Kankanaey from the Philippines) is the Focal Person/Convenor for the Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development. Here she explains the benefits of the participation of Indigenous Peoples in local and global decision-making, which would bring a diversity of perspective and solutions to pressing issues.

The Defense of Indigenous Intellectual Rights - The Case of T'boli Women
When the T'boli community in the Philippines learned that their distinctive Tnalak-style garments were being produced under false pretenses by non-T'boli manufacturers, they organized. T'boli women were able to secure collective intellectual property trademark rights to Tnalak weaving that are specific to their geographical location, which was an important victory for their community of women weavers.

Día Internacional de la Mujer
El 8 de marzo es un día relevante en el que se conmemora El Día Internacional de la Mujer originalmente denominado Día Internacional de la Mujer Trabajadora. En esta fecha se conmemora la lucha de la mujer por su participación dentro de la sociedad, su libertad y su desarrollo íntegro como persona.

Especial 8 de Marzo: Nuestras Ancestras y Mujeres Líderes.
En marco al Día Internacional de la Mujer conmemoramos las luchas de nuestras ancestras que han procurado el bienestar e igualdad para las mujeres rompiendo barreras machistas y patriarcales.

4. Learn about Indigenous women's rights.
Watch and share this video by Asia Indigenous Peoples' Pact.

5. Support Indigenous women artists!
Indigenous artists have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Support Indigenous women artists by purchasing their art.

6. Donate to Cultural Survival.
For close to five decades, Cultural Survival has prioritized projects centering Indigenous women and engaging women’s and girls’ leadership. An investment in Cultural Survival is an investment in Indigenous women and girls' leadership globally!

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6 Things to Do on International Women's Day

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