SASKATOON—On Thursday, Feb. 13, the 14th annual World Radio Day, Cultural Survival celebrated 10 years of having Indigenous people’s voices heard through the Indigenous Rights Radio program. UNESCO declared the first World Radio Day in 2012.
Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya said community radio for the world’s Indigenous Peoples is essential despite the dangers of police raids, jail time, threats and even community journalists dying to fight for this cause.
"Radio has been a fundamental means for Indigenous Peoples to maintain their languages and to exercise and defend their rights," said Anaya, who is of Apache and Purépecha descent.
In many parts of the world, community radio stations serve a vital function by distributing information about important news and educational programming like emergency disaster relief, voter registration, and public health campaigns. The power of radio reaches even the most rural areas, providing Indigenous communities with access to programming in their languages and serving as a voice that promotes Indigenous cultures, traditions, and belief systems.
CS’ “Because Knowledge is Power” IRR radio program uses the power of community radio to inform Indigenous communities of their rights. CS’s team of Indigenous producers collect and produce stories from Indigenous Peoples worldwide in English, Spanish, and over 140 Indigenous languages.
Since 2015, IRR programs have been bringing the voices of the Indigenous Peoples worldwide into a dynamic dialogue about the meaning of their rights, their everyday struggles, and the innovative solutions they develop to deal with their problems. IRR produces educational radio programming for distribution, reaching between 12 and 50 million listeners annually through the global network.
IRR’s website houses over 3794 podcasts and radio programs. The content is available on several platforms: Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple podcast, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Podimo, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podcast Addict, and Podchaser. Through IRR, Indigenous radio producers from CS bring the latest information on Indigenous Peoples' rights and how they are implemented worldwide.
Programs are available for free to listen to, download, and share. These include public service announcements, interviews, reports on international rights, and Indigenous communities' strategies to make their rights a reality. In the last 10 years, over 1,200 radio stations worldwide have received IRR programs across 55 countries in more than 140 languages. IRR produced and sourced over 610 Public Service Announcements on COVID-19 in 140 Indigenous languages. CS envisions a world in which Indigenous communities, equipped with the knowledge of their rights, are empowered to protect their lands, languages, and cultures.
“Community radio led by Indigenous Peoples is part of the good living of our communities. Radio provides the opportunity to continue developing the capacities of men and women, to make spots, podcasts, and special programs in our languages with topics that affect us, and also to share good practices in the care of the land and the territory, mainly, traditional medicine, food security, among others. Community radio is a tool many communities can use to connect and exchange their cultures, leadership, and care for natural resources in their territories. Indigenous community radio is the voice and identity of our Peoples,” said IRR Radio Program Manager Rosy Sul González, who is of Maya Kaqchikel ancestry.
CS Executive Director Aimee Roberson, Chickasaw and Choctaw, added that radio programs provide information access to Indigenous communities, especially in extremely rural areas.
“For these communities, [it] serves as a tool for local organizing, cultural and language revitalization, educational opportunities, information on lands and natural resources issues, women’s rights, and Indigenous rights. We are committed to uplifting Indigenous voices and information about Indigenous Peoples’ rights via Indigenous Rights Radio,” said Roberson.
CS Deputy ED said their Indigenous-led NGO advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and has been working with the radio movement since 2005. It has also supported Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures, and political resilience since 1972.
“Today, Indigenous-controlled media is needed more than ever, especially when mainstream media often overlooks and marginalizes Indigenous languages and issues. Daily, Indigenous radio journalists risk their lives to communicate essential information about human rights to their communities to defend their ways of life, lands, and resources. As an advocacy organization for Indigenous rights, we must support these efforts in claiming freedom of expression and access to information,” said Camp.
Help celebrate IRR’s milestone by listening to and sharing our programs and podcasts. Listen to IRR’s top 10 most listened-to programs: We Are Still Here-A Message of Unity For Thanksgiving, Doctor Ruby Gibson on Somatic Archaeology, 2019 Is The International Year of Indigenous Languages, The Impact of Religion on Maasai Traditions And Culture, Indigenous Peoples Day, Jessica Hutchings on Hua Parakore, UN Special Rapporteur discusses the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Human Rights Defenders, Many Voices, One Message - Traditional Knowledge Protects Mother Earth!, What Is Sacred To Us Means Nothing To Them - Gary McKinney on Lithium Mining In Thacker Pass.
Cultural Survival implements Indigenous Peoples' right to establish their self-determined communication platforms, as enshrined in Article 16 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2024, our Indigenous Community Media Fund supported 57 Indigenous communication projects benefiting Indigenous communities in 25 countries through $480,000 in grants, and our Indigenous Rights Radio program produced 174 radio programs and distributed them to over 800 radio partners worldwide.
Our advocacy for Indigenous community media focuses on pushing for the democratization of radio frequencies by changing telecommunication laws in countries where Indigenous Peoples want to have their radio stations and where they face criminalization for claiming their right to freedom of expression.
We continue to advocate for implementing the 2021 Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling regarding community radio stations in Guatemala. For more information, visit www.cs.org.
