Native American dance performance at IAF 2012

Neskela Sunala Grigsby is a member of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and Cherokkee Nation and during the Indigenous Awareness Festival, she will be performing the Pow Wow.
This Native American dance is one which pays tribute to the American Indian culture through singing, dancing and socializing. 
Neskela will do the Fancy Shawl Dance, which is a modern style of dancing enabling girls and young women to dance in an elaborate way, such as the men’s Fancy War Dance style.

Neskela sometimes performs alongside with her older sister, Tabitha “Tabby” Nughee:

Goodshield Aguilar & 7th Generation Rise at IAF 2012!!!

Goodshield Aguilar, the Lakota-Yaqui musician from the Yurok Country in the United States will be performing with his band, 7^th Generation Rise, at the first edition of Indigenous Awareness Festival.

Goodshield Aguilar combines traditional native music with modern rock and folk, creating a unique blend which he refers to as Indigenous Soul. He has released many albums, including “Sounds to Keep the Earth Alive”, which has obtained nationwide recognition for the messages about indigenous rights, traditions and the natural environment.

Please check out the Official Website for more information!!

Son5 at IAF 2012!!!!!

This Latin-american collective of 7 musicians from five different countries (Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Holland) will be playing variety of latin folkore, combining styles such as cumbia, son, joropo, huapango, rumba, afroperuvian and andina.
Listen & Like

Goodshield Aguilar representing the Buffalo Field Campaign during the Indigenous Awareness Festival 2012!

Goodshield Aguilar, the Lakota-Yaqui musician from the Yurok Country in the United States will be performing with his band, 7^th Generation Rise, at the first edition of Indigenous Awareness Festival.

Aguilar is also a spokesperson for cultural and environmental preservation and is a strong advocate against the abuse of animal rights. He is an active representative of the Buffalo Field Campaign, which fights for the rights of buffalos. Watch the video below and learn about one of the aspects which severely affects the indigenous peoples of North America. Then think to yourself - which measures have been taken in your society that could potentially have a great impact on your natural environment or the indigenous peoples that used to roam that land.

Media vs Indigenous People?

Today I was in my Intergration Dutch class in which we read texts which are meant to teach foreigners about the Dutch culture, its society, as well as the issues we face here in the Netherlands. The text made me realize how media can play a significant role in how indigenous people are perceived and treated nowadays.

The passage in the book talks about how Hasna El Mouradi, a 20 year old student of Moroccan descent, was threatened with her life after writing a controversial column in the NRC newspaper about the relationship between Arabic and Berber people in Morocco. However, before getting into the topic as to why she cannot walk the streets safely, it is important to point out what the Berber culture consists of.

Berbers are the indigenous groups of people who live primarily in North Africa, however, Berber people can be found all over Africa. They are mainly concentrated in Morocco and Algeria and smaller groups can be found in Tunesia, Libya and Egypt (www.al-bab.com). They, as most indigenous folk, have their own language, music, artifacts and traditions. Regrettably, a divide has come to exist between the early Berbers and the Arabic people in the past 100 years, mostly due to different political traditions and opposing beliefs about heritage and language.

This division is echoed in modern-day society in articles such as the one written by El Mouradi. Writing from a "modern Arabic Moroccan" point of view, says the following:
"The Berbers used to be the bosses of Morocco and because of that, they hold resentment that we took their land. We find the Berbers to be under-developed and primitive because, for example, they bring their mountain goats to the Netherlands. The Berbers are the ones that choose the criminal path and for that reason they're the ones giving Moroccans a bad name." (Spunk.nl, 2005)
*please note, this is my own translation of the text!!

As you can tell, this is definitely a text that may make a few angry, if not furious! However, what I am trying to get to is not the content of the text, nor the message behind it. The point of this analysis and comparison is not to point a finger, nor deny someone's freedom of speech. The purpose behind this is to figure out whether this mentality, the power of media and the strength of word of mouth are the reasons for misunderstandings, conflict and rejection of indigenous people?

The two Moroccan colleagues in my class (one Arabic and the other Berber) stated that there absolutely wasn't such an issue, nor did they treat or write about each other in such ways in their country. So my questions is: why did this columnist have to paint this picture in this light?  Is there a prejudicial factor because of her own background/experience? Can she really give herself credit for speaking for all Arabic Moroccans or was this just an opinionated, self-prophesysing rant?

Most importantly, though, is: May this kind of writing and perception be one of the reasons for discrimination and prejudice against indigenous people nowadays?
And, if so, how can we start using media/opinions.stories to actually help indigenous people rather than portray them as 'insignificant, backwards'?

                                                          (Chefchaouen, 2008)

INDIGENOUS LIFESTYLE MAY BE THE ANSWER TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

In a recent article in the National Geographic about Climate Change and Indigenous People,  Stephen Leahy shows how the Indigenous People's lifestyle may be the key to a more sustainable society as a whole. The article is based on interviews held with various participants who were invited for a 3-day workshop in Cairnes, Australia.


Until recently, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international body which assesses climate change, did not include traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. However, in order to change  societal behavior about CO2, this knowledge may be the missing link. This time the IPCC invited indigenous people to part-take in the conversation in the workshops. However, much to their dismay the workshops were set up in classroom style and limited by time. This method does not reflect the way that indigenous folk carry out meetings and discuss topics, nevertheless, the fact that the organization is now actively seeking participation shows their openness towards traditional methods and lifestyle.


Education may also be a way to start changing behavior in order to reduce CO2 emissions. As stated in the article, we are taught how to 'dominate nature' rather than learning how to live harmoniously with it. In addition, we rely on charts, statistical data and man-made techniques to tell us how we can further reduce carbon consumption, yet we do not look at the nature that is being destroyed around us to make sense of the impact we have on our environment.


Despite the fact that this 3-day workshop is a large step in the right direction for international and intergovernmental developments, the shift should actually be taking place in our own individual minds. Start by thinking: How can I reduce my carbon emissions? How can I stimulate others to do so? What is an interesting way to teach our children to get along with nature? Which lessons can I learn from indigenous people and how can we integrate this knowledge to make it accessible and attainable for all who wish to make a difference?

Welcome to the Indigenous Movement Blog!

Dear Readers,

We would like to welcome you to our new blog! We have recently started a foundation and launched our website, which we hope will raise awareness about Indigenous People's rights, as well as stimulate participation on this topic.

The concept of Indigenous Movement is more than activism for indigenous people's rights. It's about your rights as a human being to coexist with others around you, as well as your rights to traditions, language, rituals and beliefs.

In this blog, we will not try to paint neither a rosy picture on the topic, nor will we make it seem like doomsday for all humanity. In this blog, we aim to share information, stories and developments on the topic and more importantly, create a movement through knowledge and sharing. Therefore, we encourage our readers to give comments and opinions about the articles and topics we post here.

In order to support and share our cause, we are organizing our first festival- the Indigenous Awareness Festival 2012- in which we hope to inform, educate and involve our community. So far, we've gotten a lot of positive results and have some great performances in stock for the two-day festival, so stay tuned for more information!!

Once again, WELCOME and THANKS for your time, attention and interest in the Indigenous Movement Blog!


To find out more, you can look at our website: www.indigenous-movement.org