Not everyone knows, but August 9th marks a day close to our hearts: the United Nations’ International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. October 12th marks Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the U.S., but in the spirit of celebrating Indigenous languages worldwide, we’re covering the whole story.
Not sure what you can do to help preserve the future of these unique cultures? Watch the video below, then read on to learn more.
What do you know about Indigenous Peoples?
Indigenous Peoples, also known as First, Aboriginal, Native, or Autochthonous Peoples, are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures, languages, knowledge systems and beliefs.
We are raising awareness of Indigenous rights by promoting the preservation of an important element of cultural heritage: Indigenous languages. As the UN’s puts it, “preserving Indigenous languages is a matter of great urgency and is crucial to ensuring the protection of the cultural identity and dignity of Indigenous peoples.” Most Indigenous languages are endangered, and if we fail to preserve them, we risk losing not only the unique spoken word, but also their deep ancestral knowledge and traditions.
According to the UN, there are an estimated 370 million Indigenous people in the world living across 90 countries. They make up less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but account for 15 percent of the poorest. They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.
How you can do your part
You can help preserve these languages by respecting and learning more about their speakers or by learning the language yourself. As part of our continuing mission to enrich lives with language and culture, we provide access to our Indigenous and endangered language courses for free. Not only are these languages historically and linguistically valuable to learn, but they are a testament to what drives the work we do.
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