The Institute for the Study of Human Rights is pleased to announce that, through its Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Program, it is launching the electronic edition of its recent publication,
Global Indigenous Youth: Through Their Eyes, in honor of Native American Heritage Month. The electronic version of the whole book and, also, its chapters individually, has been posted on
Columbia University’s Academic Commons.
See story about the book in
UN News.
The book, originally launched at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in April 2019, is the result of close collaboration between the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus
and the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Program of the Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Seventeen Indigenous young authors from around the world have contributed to the book that discusses issues of Indigenous Youth, from colonization, to living in two worlds, to free, prior and informed consent, to mental health, traditional knowledge, food and agriculture and climate change.
The book is dedicated to human rights advocacy, research and teaching. The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Program appreciates the collaboration with the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus for this book, a testimony to the relevance and potential of academia and the Indigenous Peoples’ Movement to create community together.
We hope that the book will make even more visible the continuing and robust Indigenous Youth voices that bring new life and broad horizons to the struggles for social justice,
peace and human rights and for a sustainable world of well-being and diversity.
In the words of the Co-Chairs of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (see Introduction to the book),
We, Indigenous Youth, have listened to the stories of our elders, and we remember that we are the guardians of the forest. We are the protesters that stand for water rights, the sisters who demand environmental change in a world that is simultaneously melting and drowning, the brothers who advocate for policy change in a world that is plagued by droughts and floods, the communities who combat hunger and corruption. We are the survivors who are healing after the rape of our peoples and our lands, who, to this day, are fighting the people and corporations who want us gone for the sake of profit.
We, Indigenous Peoples, have been mowed down and burned, frozen and drowned, but our roots remained strong; we are sprouting and growing and we want you to witness our hybrid flowers blossoming. We demand the acknowledgement of our space in the contemporary world as Young, Indigenous and Living.
Indigenous Youth are not a relic of the past; rather, we are a promise of a better future. We thank you sincerely for reading this book.
