Research Paper Part III

Today, more concerns are being addressed and analyzed by various indigenous rights activist organizations.

Roy Sesana, leader of the CKGR San approached two indigenous rights activists named Rupert Isaacson and Kim Langbecker in desperate hopes to help alleviate the condition his people were subjected to. Roy, as well as Maori, Mayan, Hawaiian, and Lakota representatives discussed with Isaacson and Langbecker an NGO focused on indigenous land claims. Through the organization, indigenous peoples would gain international advocacy and its media and legal campaigns would be implemented as defense against misplacement. In 2004, The Indigenous Rights Land Fun (ILRF) initialized and began to work by facilitating a strategy in which they “intertwined” many programs and partnerships aimed towards resolving indigenous land conflicts. The ILRF has maintained provision of political, financial, legal, and consulting service for the San through its three-fold mission: 1; to assist indigenous communities in gaining secure tenure of ancestral lands, 2; to support cultural integrity, sustainable development and self-determination, and 3; to help protect the health and safety of the environment.

Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) is a non-governmental network that aims to coordinate and voice the concerns and interests of the San people. WIMSA helps develop a representative council of San members that provides a hands-on approach to plan their own advocacy and assert their human rights. Through intellectual property rights, WIMSA also works to preserve and promote cultural and linguistic sustainability.

Founded and based in Austin, Texas, the Kalahari People’s fund non-profit organization seeks to benefit the San by acting as a liaison between the people of the Kalahari and the agencies from which they can receive sustainability, economic, and educational needs.

Above are examples of methods of action towards promoting, preserving, and improving the condition of indigenous peoples in today’s society. Of course, what sparks action is inspiration, and these organizations are formed because members of the global community not realize the tragedy in marginalizing indigenous members, and the importance in helping preserve their culture and ancestral lands. In the case of the San, as with every other indigenous people who have been displaced, marginalized, and discriminated against, colonialism is seen as the culprit of their loss. Colonialism is based on notions of greed, ownership, and superiority complex. The global mentality is shifting, and it is imperative in order to preserve the richness and diversity of humanity that the indigenous communities are able to retain their land, society, and lifestyle.

Works Cited

"The Bushmen". Survival: The Movement for Tribal Peoples. Sat. 23. 2010 .

"Intro". Land Rights Fund. Sat. 23. 2010 .

"The San Bushmen of Southern Africa". Blogspot. Sat. 23. 2010 .

“Navajo Leadership Camp & Meeting with San Bushmen from the Central Kalahari September 2004". The Tracking Project. Sat. 23. 2010 .

"Working Group of Indigenous Minorites in Southern Africa". Working Group of Indigenous Minorites in Southern Africa. Sat. 23. 2010 .