Annual Report 2010 - Cultural Survival

FINANCIAL REPORT
ANNUAL REPORT 2010
There are many aspects to Indigenous issues, more than any single organization can address. Cultural
Survival has identified several areas that it feels are especially important, and, as the charts opposite
show, we have focused our efforts and our finances around them.
We feel that one of the largest contributing factors to abuses of Indigenous Peoples’ rights is the fact that
they happen out of sight. Most non-Indigenous people know very little about Indigenous communities
or about their efforts to defend themselves. As a result, the larger public doesn’t take action to support
those communities’ efforts. It is crucial, then, to give Indigenous Peoples a voice, a platform to make
themselves and their issues known to the broader world. Our publications and communications
program addresses that concern.
One of the most urgent issues that Indigenous communities face is the loss of their languages, often as a
result of government programs and the cultural hegemony of the larger, non-Indigenous society. We
address this issue through our Endangered Languages Program, which seeks to support Native communities’
efforts to keep their languages alive.
Many Indigenous communities are small, remote, and isolated, making it difficult to defend themselves,
to get outside information, or to coordinate their efforts with other groups. Our Community Radio
Program is addressing that issue by building a network of small, affordable radio stations throughout
Guatemala.
A huge number of Indigenous communities face severe environmental damage from mines, dams, oil
drilling, and other extractive industries taking place on their land, usually without their permission.
These communities are often too small to have political power or to generate broad public support for
their cause, and without it they face dire consequences. The Global Response Program addresses this
concern by launching international letter-writing campaigns in partnership with these communities.
Culturally appropriate economic development is a rare commodity in many Indigenous communities.
These remote communities don’t have ready access to markets or the capacity to promote their products.
The Bazaars Program bridges that gap and introduces hundreds of thousands of non-Indigenous
people to Indigenous artists. At the same time, it provides revenue that supports individual artists’ families
and whole communities.
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