Event
The World Today: Decolonize the Future: Defending Indigenous Rights and Lands
Perry World House 3803 Locust Walk, Philadelphia
Indigenous Peoples across the Americas have faced more than five centuries of colonial occupation and exploitation.
The struggle for Indigenous rights – especially Indigenous land rights – continues to this day. Indigenous and community lands cover more than fifty percent of the world’s surface, but just five percent of these lands are actually legally owned by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Despite many challenges, the Maya People have made significant progress on land rights in recent years, winning legal victories in Belize and forging progress within the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Their successes and setbacks have global implications for human rights, justice, and climate change: when Indigenous communities have secure land rights, they experience greater prosperity, and their territories have lower rates of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improved biodiversity protection.
In this edition of "The World Today" to mark Indigenous Peoples' Day, Perry World House will welcome three Maya activists from Belize - Cristina Coc, Pablo Mis, and Filiberto Penados - to discuss the history of Indigenous land rights, ongoing negotiations, and the global significance of the Maya struggle to defend their lands and secure their future.
Moderator
Richard M. Leventhal, Executive Director of the Penn Cultural Heritage Center of the Penn Museum, Professor of Anthropology
As part of this mission, Perry World House hosts "The World Today," a weekly event on one of today’s most pressing global issues. Taking place every Tuesday, it is dedicated to a timely and intimate conversation on a global policy issue that changes each week. It is open to the entire Penn community, regardless of academic focus, and aims to be accessible and interesting to students who might not have the time to take classes on these topics but still want to deepen their understanding of the world. Members of the wider community are always welcome.