Haudenosaunee Delegation attend UN International Year of Indigenous Languages Assembly

Akwesasne TV Rep attend Offical Launch in Paris

Protect indigenous people's land rights and the whole world will benefit, UN forum declares

Thousands of representatives of Indigenous leaders gathered in New York City at the United Nations Permanent Forum in Indigenous Issues on February 1, 2019. The United Nations is hoping to raise awareness of the cultural loss with the launch this week of the International Year of Indigenous Languages, a yearlong project to help protect these ancient mother tongues.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages in order to raise global attention on the critical risks confronting indigenous languages and its significance for sustainable development, reconciliation, good governance and peace building.

"2019 must serve as a turning point in our collective determination to save indigenous languages and those who speak them," Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the president of the General Assembly, told a UN gathering on Friday.

Out of the roughly 7,600 languages spoken worldwide, 2,680 indigenous languages are in danger and many are disappearing at an alarming rate unless new initiatives are taken to revive them, according to UN officials.

"Every two weeks, there is an indigenous language that disappears, so it is a pretty large toll indeed," said Ernesto Ottone-Ramirez, an assistant director at the UN's cultural agency UNESCO.

The official launch event took place at the United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France and was attended by Regan Jacobs, Akwesasne TV on January 28th, representing ATV's partnership in this U.N. initiative.

Jacobs stated, "I was listening to Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, who is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and she was speaking at the launch about how language rights leads to self-determination, and how community-based media can connect people, through sophisticated technology. We can also unite and mobilize our young people. I thought to myself, Akwesasne TV is doing this, making an impact and is far reaching by creating content that is relatable and entrenched in the Mohawk language, culture and traditions. It was a proud moment."

The official launch in Paris was co-organized by UNESCO, UNDESA, and the members of Steering Committee for the organization of the International Year, as well as with the participation of other relevant stakeholders. Held under the theme "Indigenous languages matter for sustainable development, peace building and reconciliation", the event gathered high-level governmental representatives, indigenous peoples, civil society, academia, media, information and memory organizations, United Nations agencies, public language harmonization and documentation institutions and private sector. The major objective of the official launch event is to provide a global forum for a constructive debate in which high-level speakers address new paradigms for safeguarding, promoting and providing access to knowledge and information for the indigenous languages".

Kanentokon Hemlock (Kahnawake), as designated through the Haudenosaunee Grand Council of Chiefs, gave the opening address for the high level gathering, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee.

IYIL2019 will promote indigenous languages in these five key areas

1. Increasing understanding, reconciliation and international cooperation.

2. Creation of favorable conditions for knowledge-sharing and dissemination of good practices with regards to indigenous languages.

3. Integration of indigenous languages into standard setting.

4. Empowerment through capacity building.

5. Growth and development through elaboration of new knowledge.

Numbers

7 thousand languages spoken worldwide

370 million Indigenous people in the world

90 countries with Indigenous communities

5 thousand different Indigenous cultures

2680 languages in danger