“Language is the only tool for expressing identity and culture as well as one of the greatest emblems of human diversity. There are 7,000 living languages in the world and around 3,000 are considered as ‘endangered’. This means that almost half of the planet’s current linguistic diversity is under threat.” – Abhijit Mohanty in “Seven decades after independence, many tribal languages in India face extinction threat” (Down to Earth, 26 August 2020)
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/governance/seven-decades-after-independence-many-tribal-languages-in-india-face-extinction-threat-73071
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=6879
Vote on Indigenous Rights Declaration[…] the Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples […] AJAI MALHOTRA (India) said his country had consistently favoured the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights. […] Regarding references to the right to self-determination, it was his understanding that the right to self-determination applied only … Read more
Source: “The Power of Healing”, Linda Young, artist and Traditional Knowledge Keeper for the Saskatchewan Public School Division in Canada, interviewed by Veronica Yates, Director of Child Rights International Network CRIN, in “The Power of Healing”, 15 January 2020URL: https://home.crin.org/readlistenwatch/stories/2020/5/6/the-power-of-healing
A visit to the Toda hamlet known as Taranadmund near Ooty makes it clear that for the Toda community, cultural heritage is part of everyday life and worship. The local economy continues to involve buffalo rearing. The breathtaking Nilgiris are home to a number of indigenous tribes, one of which is Toda. Unfortunately, the once … Read more
Until now, historians and anthropologists believed that Todas, a tribal group in the higher altitudes of the Nilgiris, reached there about 2,000 years ago. A new study by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru researchers shows the community was already settled there 3,500-4,000 years ago when a climate change occurred in southern India. […] The buffalo-tending … Read more
A language is a window onto a culture, history and way of life. So what do we lose when a community stops speaking the language of its ancestors? John Gallagher is joined by Gwenno, who writes and sings in Cornish, and researchers working to reclaim endangered languages around the world. With Mandana Seyfeddinipur of the … Read more