Interview by Luisa Maffi, Editor of Langscape Magazine, Co-founder and Director, Terralingua In June of 2019, I was very fortunate to attend a unique event: the HELISET TŦE SḰÁL “Let the Languages Live” conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (June 24–26, 2019). Organized by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation,

Video by Wekhanyi (Peter) Thopi, age 30, Chakhesang Naga (India); and Tshenyilou (Lele) Chirhah, age 26, Chakhesang Naga (India) Nagaland is a small mountain state in the North East Region (NER) of India. NER is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and the diverse ethnic communities of the region have significantly contributed to sustaining this

Story by Hellen Losapicho, age 34, El Molo (Kenya), and Magella Hassan Lenatiyama, age 35, El Molo (Kenya) The last fluent speaker of our language, El Molo, died in 1999, and it is now one of the most endangered languages in the world. When the Samburu people moved into our territories after an outbreak of

Interview by Luisa Maffi, Editor of Langscape Magazine, Co-founder and Director, Terralingua In June of 2019, I was very fortunate to attend a unique event: the HELISET TŦE SḰÁL “Let the Languages Live” conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (June 24–26, 2019). Organized by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation,

Story by Abraham Ofori-Henaku, age 21, Akan (Ghana) . It’s been quite a long journey growing up in a society that very much holds on to its rich way of life — something that I always took for granted. And now, it’s all coming back to me in regret. Oh! Pardon me! Where are my manners? Hi there!

Story by Somnath Dadas (Dhangar), age 22, India, with Kanna K. Siripurapu Chasing My Dreams I’m Somnath Dadas (22), a young Dhangar (shepherd) man, and this is my journey of self-discovery, a story of chasing my dreams and returning to my cultural roots. I’m a native of Kothale village of the Indian state of Maharashtra,

Interview by Luisa Maffi, Editor of Langscape Magazine, Co-founder and Director, Terralingua In June of 2019, I was very fortunate to attend a unique event: the HELISET TŦE SḰÁL “Let the Languages Live” conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (June 24–26, 2019). Organized by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation,

Story by We’e’ena Tikuna, Tikuna, Brazil, age 30 . I am We’e’ena Tikuna, a member of the Tikuna people of Brazil. My name means “the jaguar that swims to the other side in the river.” My story is the story of an Indigenous woman who has overcome many obstacles. I was born in the Tikuna Umariaçu

Story by Fauzi Bin Abdul Majid, age 24, Palu’e I am a Palu’e, one of the Indigenous peoples of Indonesia. I am a student in the English Education Study Program of Nusa Nipa University of Maumere, Indonesia. I’m going do my thesis about our traditional culture, Palu’e. When I was looking for the best subject

Story by Sean Anthony Dagondon Rusiana (Bagobo-Tagabawa, Philippines), age 20 Formal education and a degree is something that we Indigenous peoples in the Philippines value as a tool for self-realization and development. For many Indigenous peoples, education is a way out of the multiple impacts of poverty that have hounded Indigenous peoples throughout history. Access