Dear Editor,
Support Indigenous People because Indigenous people matter. Here we are in the 21st century still fighting for the same things: equality, racial awareness and injustice, inclusiveness and respect. The overwhelming priority for indigenous people is for their lands to be secured so they can choose their own way of life, get control over their own education, healthcare, and live the life they design for themselves. If their land rights are recognized, tribal peoples thrive. If they’re not, the outlook is bleak. Jonathan Mazower, advocacy director, Survival International, London, UK. @Survival.
Indigenous peoples’ dependence on the land for food, shelter, identity and survival has resulted in a deep respect for that land and a need to conserve it. Indigenous peoples traditionally develop a set of conservation measures that are passed down from one generation to the next, and as a result they should be seen as the best people to conserve that land.
Informed public education and awareness building is critical to the implementation of indigenous rights. This is a responsibility of all. There is a lot of mistrust for good reason. But how we inform ourselves and understand our own complicity in consumption and policies that sustains the need for production, profit, and exploitation is absolutely necessary. We can then began to understand the impact on indigenous peoples, their territories and lands.
Show your support by placing a painted rock below the banner of support along the fence line at South Gower Park, starting Monday, June 7 to June 30 ,2021. Thank you for your support and for raising the awareness.
Onasanya Family