Mussa Juma Siwayombe, Executive Director

A media-based campaign spearheaded by the Media Aid for Indigenous and Pastoralists Community (MAIPAC) is making strides in raising awareness about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Tanzania's Longido District. The project, supported by Cultural Survival, is using radio programs, video documentaries, and social media to advocate for the abandonment of the practice and protect the well-being of young girls in Maasai communities.

By Bijo Thomas, Radio Mattoli Station Director

By Hendro Karundeng, Kelung Contributor, Tontemboan Tribe, Minahasa Nation

In the misty hills of Kolongan, a group of young Minahasan men and women gathered with a shared purpose: to reclaim their ancestral stories and traditions through the power of writing and media. This marked the beginning of “Mapantik ne Kelung” (The Writing of the Shield). The name evokes a powerful image of a kelung (shield), a tool once used by ancient Minahasan warriors, now wielded in a new kind of battle—one fought not with steel, but with words and images.

By Titus N’getuny, Communication Officer, Endorois Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (EIWEN)

Podcasts have become a vital space for Indigenous Peoples to reclaim their narratives, revitalize languages, and share cultural knowledge on their own terms. For African Indigenous creators, they serve as platforms for sustaining ancestral wisdom, amplifying oral traditions, and strengthening cultural identity while making these stories accessible to global audiences.

By Lucas Kasosi (Maasai, CS Fellow)
 

By Brandi Morin (Cree/Iroquois)
Photos by Julien Defourny
 

Cultural Survival welcomes the newest member of our Board of Directors, Dr. Lyla June Johnston. Lyla June is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne), and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences around the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her academic work in Human Ecology and Indigenous Pedagogy with the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives, and solutions.

By Phoebe Farris (Powhatan-Pamunkey)

In rural Alaska, where six months of darkness shape daily life and traditional stories lean toward horror, Indigenous filmmakers are reclaiming narrative power.