Issue

Indigenous Communities

Three hundred and seventy million Indigenous people from more than 5,000 Indigenous communities speak more than 4,000 languages and are spread across over 90 countries. Representing just 5 percent of the world’s population, Indigenous communities protect about 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity. Because of widespread discrimination, Indigenous people make up 15 percent of the world’s extreme poor and are disproportionately affected by land theft, malnutrition, and internal displacement compared to other communities. 

The challenges facing Indigenous communities come from centuries-long systems of oppression. Today, Indigenous people are being accused of terrorism and treason for undertaking peaceful efforts to maintain their cultural identity or traditional lands. Journalism can shed light on discriminatory practices and conflicts underpinning these challenges and many more, from root causes to examples of resilience. Quality journalism can elevate voices from Indigenous communities and should dispel stereotypes. Part of this misrepresentation is the result of a lack of Indigenous voices and stories in traditional media. A survey of members of the News Leaders Association showed that less than 0.05 percent of journalists in leading media outlets are Native American and a Nieman report found that Indigenous people represented only 0.6 percent of people portrayed in stories by the 20 most-trafficked internet news sites.  The Pulitzer Center is uniquely positioned to bring these often under-reported or misreported issues and under-represented perspectives to new audiences. 

These stories include High Country News years-long investigation into Indigenous land theft to benefit America’s public universities, “Nowhere to Turn,” a project uncovering the inequitable treatment of Alaska Native sexual assault survivors published by both The Associated Press and National Native News, and “Panama at the Crossroads,” an interactive multimedia project by Sol Lauría and Guido Bilbao uplifting the decades-long fight for land protection by the Gnäbe and Buglé people.   

 

Indigenous Communities

The Wampis: First Indigenous Autonomous Government in Peru Fights Back Against Deforestation (Spanish)

The Wampis Nation is made up of thousands of people whose ancestors have lived in the Amazon rainforest in the north of Peru for centuries. Increasing raids from loggers, miners, and those searching for fossil fuels, in addition to political changes that favor industrial exploitation of natural resources, have left the Wampis more and more worried about the future of their home.

The Sateré-Mawé Retake Ancestral Land Threatened by Loggers and Land Thieves (Portuguese)

In a region historically occupied by the Sateré-Mawé people, the Indians are demanding that the National Indigenous Agency (Funai) correct the boundaries of the Indigenous Andirá-Marau land. A Mongabay reporting team, supported by the Rainforest Journalism Fund and the Pulitzer Center, accompanied their trip to regions which will become future villages.

Joane: Plastic Is Killing Us in the Amazon

This young Brazilian activist fights for a better future in her village in the Brazilian Amazon. Her story is the fourth in the series 'Rainforest Defenders' which presents five activists fighting against environmental destruction and Bolsonaro's government.