Members of the U.S. Congress heard testimony from Indigenous Peoples of Africa at a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on May 12. The hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., was co-chaired by Rep. James McGovern and Rep Frank Wolf. It followed on a similar hearing last year for Indigenous Peoples of Latin America.
The hearing explored the unique ways that Indigenous Peoples, with their specific cultures, traditions, and expertise, can contribute to strategies for economic development. Testimony was given by Sharon Cromer, senior deputy assistant administrator for sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development; Rebecca Adamson, president and founder of First Peoples Worldwide; Phillemon Nakali Loyelei of the Nyangatom Tribe in Ethiopia; Mary Simat, executive director of Maasai Women for Education and Economic Development; and Lori Udall from the Sacharuna Foundation.
Cultural Survival submitted to the commission its investigative report on human rights abuses committed by Kenyan police against the Samburu pastoralist people of Kenya.
