Cultural Survival’s Indigenous Youth Fellowship supports young Indigenous leaders between the ages of 17–28 who are working to transform their communities and create opportunities for the elevation, defense, and strengthening of their cultures and traditions while developing their leadership, organizational, and management skills. Since 2018, we have awarded 111 fellowships supporting 215 fellows.
The fellowship projects primarily focus on language revitalization, protection of land, media and art, and revival of traditions, among other topics that enable the fellows to engage more people in their community. The involvement and participation of Indigenous youth are essential for intergenerational knowledge transfer and cultural continuity, as today's youth are the future leaders of their communities.
Meet our second cohort of 2023 Fellows.
Florentina Sri Dewi Wulan (Dayak Simpakng) from Indonesia
Area of Focus: Indigenous Language Revitalization
Florentina Sri Dewi Wulandar was born in Tahak, Indonesia. Locally, she is known as Dewi, and her special local name is Ragak, which means “she who weaves rattan baskets.” In 2021, she graduated cum laude in History from Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Pontianak. She is a writer and uses her talent to bring to light the stories, knowledge, and wisdom of her Dayak culture and the Dayak people. Dewi has also contributed to academic journals with articles on topics such as youth involvement in forest conservation efforts in Ketapang Regency and oral traditions of the Dayak Simpakng community in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is currently teaching with her sister in Arus Kualan, an informal center for traditional learning, where she encourages Dayak youth to write and record the stories of their people.
Dewi’s fellowship project, “Revitalizing the Dayak Simpakng Language Through Archiving Traditional Knowledge in Written Form,” aims to maintain the knowledge of the Dayak Simpakng community by creating an archive.
Limi Youth Society (Limi and Tamang) from Nepal
Area of Focus: Indigenous Language Revitalization
The Limi Youth Society is a youth-led organization dedicated to uplifting the unique identity of the Limi community. Since its creation as a youth club in 2005, it has become a formidable force for positive change, prioritizing collective collaboration and community development. The Limi Youth Society’s mission revolves around elevating the Limi community with special emphasis on improving child and youth development. The youth take immense pride in their Indigenous customs and traditions and are actively working to pass them down to future generations.
Their fellowship project, titled, “Going Back to Go Forward Through Language,” aims to revitalize the Limi language and create opportunities for children and youth to learn their native language in educational settings. The project will create a digital dictionary, recordings of traditional dances, and develop an e-library of Indigenous issues that will highlight the history of the Limi people.
Wechekeche Ka Itrofillmongen Organization (Mapuche) from Chile
Area of Focus: Land Defense from Negative Impacts of Transitioning to the Green Economy
Wechekeche Ka Itrofillmongen (Biodiversity and Youth) is an organization that creates safe spaces for Indigenous youth to promote their cultural diversity and rights and to express their needs. They are a group of young people who work to defend and promote the rights of biodiversity, empowering Indigenous youth to grow and learn in the process.
Their fellowship project, “Ti rüpu ingkakeleiñ itxofill mongen” (The path of defending biodiversity), seeks to strengthen the capabilities of the group members through activities and meetings to raise awareness about the need to defend and protect their territories affected by the so-called “green” extractivist model that promotes electric cars, mineral extraction, and other methods of electro-mobility targeted to young people in urban areas.
Akecha Rosella (Tepeth) from Uganda
Area of Focus: Land Defense from Negative Impacts of Transitioning to the Green Economy
Akecha Rosella is a social worker. She was born and raised in a minority community in Moroto district, Karamoja subregion, Uganda, and recently earned a bachelor's degree in Community Development and Social Justice from Kyambogo University. She supports her community in different capacities, especially in the field of advocacy and defense.
Akecha’s fellowship project, “Arise the Tepeth,” seeks to create awareness about the rights of and security challenges faced by Indigenous communities impacted by mining operations and to promote equitable access to services. She will lead capacity building workshops in advocacy and Indigenous Peoples’ rights and conduct meetings with Indigenous authorities and local leaders.
Ulu Films (Guna) from Panama
Area of Focus: Traditional Medicine Protection
Ulu Films is an Indigenous collective from the Guna Yala region in Panama made up of environmentalists and professionals in film, visual art, graphic design, and education who are passionate about strengthening their cultural traditions and protecting nature. Through audiovisual media, they tell the stories of Indigenous Peoples, their struggles, and their rights from the perspective of the Guna community in their own language.
Their fellowship project, “Sabgued” (Conservation), aims to highlight the importance of traditional traditional medicine, protect and promote ancestral knowledge and practices, and strengthen the cultural heritage of the community. It will feature traditional medicine workshops, art exhibits, documentaries, and educational audiovisual material.
Bielka Griseylda Miguel Feliciano (Mayanga) from Nicaragua
Area of Focus: Revitalization of Indigenous Languages
Bielka Griseylda Miguel Feliciano is pursuing her university studies in Engineering and Computer Science, focusing on the development of technologies that motivate Indigenous youth to take pride in their cultures and languages.
Her fellowship project, “Software Translation,” seeks to develop a translation app from English and Spanish into the Panamahka language with its three variants, and Miskito. Bielka will also develop an extension for Google Chrome to facilitate translation on mobile devices. She will collaborate with Indigenous communities to revitalize her native language and culture among the Indigenous youth and future generations.
Ayoo Goretty (Tepeth) from Uganda
Area of Focus: Land Defense from Negative Impacts of Transitioning to the Green Economy
Ayoo Goretty is a youth and community development advocate from the Moroto district of Uganda who has mobilized people in her community to defend their territory. Her fellowship project, “Youth Capacity Strengthening and Advocacy on Land Life Defenders,” seeks to build leadership skills in Indigenous youth in Katikeile by delivering training workshops on land defense, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The goal is to strengthen Indigenous youth capacity on the local level to to promote self-reliance.
Estefania Grefa (Kichwa) from Ecuador
Area of Focus: Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Estefanía Grefa lives in the community of Unión Base, the headquarters of the Amazonian regional organization of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, located in the province of Pastaza, Ecuador. She has experience in tourism, environmental studies, ancestral gastronomy, and community social communication.
Her fellowship project, “Reforestation and Use of the Ungurahua Palm Fruit,” seeks to strengthen and revive the traditional practices and cultural connections to the ungurahua (palm) fruit. She plans on reforesting the fruit in vulnerable areas and to hold mingas (community gatherings) for the reforestation of the palm fruit. She will also conduct workshops on the use of the ungurahua fruit as a nutritional element and its relevance to the community.
Carla Jarraira (Macuxi) from Brazil
Area of Focus: Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Carla Jarraira is a law student at the Federal University of Roraima and a member of the Bismark Indigenous community of the Raposa. She is also part of the Youth for Our Planet movement in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Her fellowship project, “The Komannîto`eseru (Macuxi Culture) Project,” aims to strengthen her mother tongue and her culture. Carla will organize several workshops to promote the strengthening of the Macuxi culture through practical training on Traditional Knowledge. She will also provide alternatives for income generation through entrepreneurship activities for Indigenous youth in the Raposa region.
Pedro Luis Carballo (Yurakare) from Bolivia
Area of Focus: Revitalization of Indigenous Languages
Pedro Carballo was born in the Puerto Victoria Yurakaré community in Cochabamba, Bolivia. From 2019 to 2022, through a project funded by UNICEF and the Samma Foundation, he trained as a theater and film actor. He also trained as a community reporter, which has enabled him to promote the voices of Indigenous youth at radio stations and in local media in Cochabamba.
His fellowship project, “The Yurakaré Multimedia Project,” aims to document Traditional Knowledge from Elder Tipnis speakers and mobilize young people to create audiovisual content to disseminate this knowledge to more people.
Free Borsey (Lummi) from USA
Area of Focus: Traditional Medicine Protection
Free Borsey, whose traditional name is Tsuxwilum, is Lhaq’temish of the Lummi Nation and also descends from the We Wai Kai First Nations of Cape Mudge in British Columbia, Canada. Free is a member of the Youth and Indigenous (YAI) podcast and uses her platform to inform her audience about Indigeneity, climate issues, and Native issues past and present.
Free and the YAI team will carry out the project “Plants,” a podcast series focused on the culmination of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, herbalism and wildcraft, and the important role that plants play in our ecosystem. Their project aims to promote safe harvesting of traditional medicines and foods, as well as to educate about the importance of plants in our daily lives.
Eli Gloria Dzib (Maya) from Mexico
Area of Focus: Revitalization of Indigenous Languages
Eli Gloria Dzib is a primary school teacher in the community of Kanxoc, Valladolid, Yucatán. She holds a graduate degree in Bilingual Intercultural Primary Education from the Juan de Dios Rodríguez Heredia Normal School. She has been developing bilingual Virtual Learning Objects, an online learning platform for Maya language tool for language learning, with the objective of creating multimedia resources in the Mayan language that can be shared with teachers and parents. She also created the website and social media page Túumben Chúunul as a storage space for various digital materials in Mayan.
Her fellowship project, “Túumben Chúunul (New Start),” will create an interactive, bilingual virtual learning space to promote and strengthen the Mayan language. The space will make digital resources accessible to create a place for community sharing and exchange.
Carmen Alicia Jansasoy (Inga) from Colombia
Area of Focus: Revitalization of Indigenous Languages
Carmen Alicia Jansasoy was born in Santiago, Putumayo, Colombia. She is the daughter of an artisan mother and musician father, who work on farms and the promotion of the arts who dedicated their work in the fields of crops and arts and provided Carmen with a family environment of belonging and commitment to promoting harmony between art, culture, and community. She is currently studying an Education Bachelor Degree pedagogy.
Her fellowship project, “Strengthening of the Mother Tongue in Children and Youth,” aims to revitalize and promote the Inga language and culture through theater workshops and organize community gatherings with Elders, knowledge keepers, and traditional authorities to transfer their knowledge to the younger generation.
Martha Rodriguez (Piapoco) from Venezuela
Area of Focus: Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Martha Rodriguez was born in Puerto Ayacucho and now lives in San José de Galipero, Amazona, a community founded 25 years ago by her grandparents. She is a role model and natural leader for the children in her community. Martha is also a teacher at the local primary school as well as a university student. She is especially committed to the women of her community.
The focus of Martha’s fellowship project is named “Working for sustainability”, to train women in the arts as an alternative means of family and community self-sustenance, concluding with a demonstration at crafts fair in Ayacucho.
Gleydimar Caribán Rodríguez (Piapoco) from Venezuela
Area of Focus: Land Defense from Negative Impacts of Transitioning to the Green Economy
Gleydimar Caribán Rodríguez is from the community of Betel de Picatonal, Amazonas, and studied at the UE María Teresa del Toro. Her community has been greatly impacted by mining operations that have damaged the biodiversity and ecosystem. She wants to advocate for the protection of the environment for future generations to come.
Gleydimar’s fellowship project, “Training Indigenous Women in Environmental Protection and Biodiversity,” will raise awareness about the impacts of mining on the environment and promote a healthy environment with harmonious use of natural resources by building capacity and skills in traditional agriculture, hunting, and fishing among Indigenous youth and women.
Kuenan Felix Medeiros (Tikuna/Tarian) from Brazil
Area of Focus: Recovery of Ancestral Cosmology
Kuenan Felix Medeiros is from the Tikuna Peoples of the upper Solimões on his mother’s side, and the Tarian Peoples of the Upper Negro on father’s side. She is an artist, activist, and model and a community journalist in the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon Network and the Makira E´ta (Network of Indigenous Women of the Amazon State). In addition, she is part of the executive coordinator committee of the Miriã Mahsã Collective, which is the first Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ collective in the Amazon state. She is also part of the Federation of Tikunas Indigenous Chiefs and Community Organizations in her region.
Kuenan’s fellowship project is to create a website for the community that tells the history of the Tikuna Peoples and will serve as a space for people to learn about the crafts created in the community. The aim is to have a platform for Indigenous youth to disseminate their knowledge to the world.
Érika Marcelino Coelho, Lucas Martins Pereira, and Richasliny Helena Oliveira (Arana Caboclo/Quilombola) from Brazil
Area of Focus: Land Defense from Negative Impacts of Transitioning to the Green Economy
Land defenders Érika Marcelino Coelho, Lucas Martins Pereira, and Richasliny Helena Oliveira are a group of youth of Arana Caboclo and Quilombola Indigenous-Afro descent who are leaders of their communities advocating for the defense and protection of their territories that are being impacted by lithium extraction. They are a diverse group advocating for the self-determination and capacity building of their people in having more accessibility to basic resources.
The fellows will develop a series of creative workshops as well as manage dialogue spaces that will train young people to protect their communities. In addition, they will share important knowledge about medicinal plants endemic to the region and promote the transfer of this knowledge to future generations.
Thaís Sarmento Fernandes (Dessana) from Brazil
Area of Focus: Indigenous Women’s Leadership
Thaís Sarmento Fernandes is from the Amazonas state of Brazil. She holds a degree in Social Work and is currently studying for a master’s degree in Social Anthropology in the Manaus. She is a member of the Miriã Coordination Mahsã Collective of 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous Peoples of Amazonia, coordinator of the Indigenous Youth Department of the Makira E’ta Network, and an activist for the rights of Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ youth.
Thaís’ fellowship project, “2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous People and Their Rights to Culture and Gender Expression,” is about the promotion of gender identity and expression of Indigenous sexuality through activities that raise awareness about the violation of human rights. She will organize artistic workshops, political trainings, and creative techniquesincentives, promoting spaces for leadership of this target audience.
Ixel Imalzith Zelaya (Miskitu) from Nicaragua
Area of Focus: Indigenous Women’s Leadership
Ixel Imalzith Zelaya is an Indigenous and environmental defender and activist studying law. She has experience in community and youth activism and has worked for several years with the Moskitia Indigenous Youth Association, dedicating her career to the defense and promotion of the rights of Indigenous communities in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua.
Ixel’s fellowship project, “Building a Future for Indigenous Youth and Women's Leadership in Action,” seeks to build the leadership of youth leaders, mainly women, in accessing education and reducing inequality and discrimination.
Catalina Vergara Realpe (Nasa) from Colombia
Area of Focus: Revitalization of Indigenous Languages
Catalina Vergara Realpe was born in Cali, Colombia, though she spent most of her childhood in Ecuador, and now resides in the Paniquita Indigenous Reserve in Colombia. She is deeply connected to the lands and water systems of the Earth that have guided her to become a leader in advocating for Indigenous youth rights.
Catalina’s youth fellowship project, “Ukwesx Laakwe Piyaka Naywe” (Strengthening of Nasa Yuwe through Play),” will develop a linguistic foundation to strengthen the Nasa Yuwe language through play-oriented activities for children and youth to strengthen their cultural identity and language.
Maritha Thais (San) from Namibia
Area of Focus: Indigenous Women’s Leadership
Martiha Thais was born in a small village on the outskirts of Grootfontein, Namibia. She enjoys reading and singing and has experience as in coordinator in the students council. coordination as a school representative. She is proud to have been selected to participate in national English debates representing her school.
Through her fellowship project, "Human Rights," Martiha will organize trainings on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples through theater, audiovisual content, and group discussions with youth and community leaders. In addition, she will coordinate two workshops on natural resources and sustainable alternatives.
