Introducing the Chosen Indigenous Academic Achievers of 2025
A Proud Announcement from Cultural Survival
Hey there! 😎🎉 We're pumped to spill the beans on our selected Young Indigenous Interns for 2025 as part of our Capacity Development Program. This program is all about backingenergetic Indigenous youth leaders aged 18 to 28 who are ready to change their worlds and create opportunities to elevate, defend, and strengthen their cultures and traditional knowledge practices. And let me tell ya, we ain't just talkin' - since 2018, we've doled out 157 scholarships, supporting over 350 young warriors from around the globe!
These scholars are tackling some heavy issues head-on, such as climate change, food sovereignty, decolonization, language revitalization, land protection, media and art, and tradition recovery. These young guns play a crucial role in driving positive change, and their active participation is essential for preserving ancestral wisdom and ensuring the continuity of Indigenous cultures. So, let's give it up for these brave souls! 🥳💪 Cu writa'!
Meet Our 2025 Fellows
Quillay Méndez (Omaguaca), Argentina
A Focus on Art, Identity, and Trans-Indigenous Activism
Quillay is a transgender artist from the Omaguaca nation, and they're big on blending ancestral memory with neoconceptual perspectives. As a dancer, performer, cultural agent, and researcher, they fuse traditional rituals with contemporary artistic views. Quillay also teaches Body Expression and Folk Music Technique (ISA), and they facilitate workshops on Ancestral Dance-Movement and Singing with a drum.
Quillay's project, "SuriLithium," is a video-performance that shines a critical light on lithium extraction in Jujuy, Argentina. The goal here is to generate mind-bending, reflective discussions about the environmental and social impacts of this economic and political activity. HOLD UP! That's just a taste of what these amazing warriors are up to – keep reading to learn more!
U Khing Nue Chak (Chak) from Bangladesh
Environmental Education and Reinforcement of Traditional Livelihoods
U Khing Nue Chak is an Indigenous rights warrior from the Chak community in the hills of Bandarban, Bangladesh. She's dedicated her life to saving her cultural heritage, promoting traditional subsistence practices, and fostering sustainable entrepreneurship among Indigenous women and youth. Through her initiatives and advocacy work, U Khing Nue Chak aims to bridge the gap between cultural roots and economic empowerment, ensuring the resilience of Indigenous communities. 🔥💪
Ukhing, along with Ushing Mya Marma, Chaw Way Hai Marma, and Puchainu Marma, is coordinating the "BIRDS: Bandarban Indigenous Roots Development and Sustainability" (BIRDS) project. This initiative seeks to preserve the cultural traditions of Chak, Khyang, Tripura, Marma, and Tanchagya communities, focusing on traditional weaving. With the risk of cultural loss in mind, the project aims to get young ones involved in learning and passing on these skills for future generations.
The objectives of the project are to empower women from six communities through weaving skills and entrepreneurship, preserve cultural heritage by documenting weaving techniques, organize "Barefoot Forest" campaigns to connect young people with ecological practices, and promote community development by creating a resource center for woven products. This initiative aims to keep these communities firmly connected to their roots while fostering pride in their cultural heritage.
Deniza Flores Orcko (Quechua) from Bolivia
Preservation of Language and Ancestral Knowledge, Medicinal Plants, and Art and Textiles
Deniza is a Quechua multitasker! Born in Potosí, Bolivia, she's an engineering whiz, graphic and web designer, journalist, and YouTube creator with a passion for environmental and cultural issues like mining contamination and access to potable water. This dynamo creates educational content on YouTube and the radio, promotes urban gardening and community forestry, writes essays and reports, and works to boost entrepreneurial development.
Deniza's project, "Tinkunakuy (Reencontrarnos): Tejiendo Saberes" (Reconnecting: Weaving Knowledge), focuses on showcasing the importance of preserving the Quechua language and ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants through handmade textiles that represent cultural symbolism. This process will be documented through audiovisual content to educate a broader audience and raise awareness about preserving these essential traditions.
**More Details Coming Up on Our 2025 Scholars!
- Quillay Méndez's project, "SuriLithium," is a video-performance that raises critical discussions about the environmental and social impacts of lithium extraction in Jujuy, Argentina within the context of art, identity, and trans-Indigenous activism.
- U Khing Nue Chak, from the Chak community in Bandarban, Bangladesh, is dedicated to promoting traditional subsistence practices, fostering sustainable entrepreneurship among Indigenous women and youth, and preserving cultural heritage through the "BIRDS: Bandarban Indigenous Roots Development and Sustainability" (BIRDS) project.
- Deniza Flores Orcko, a Quechua multitasker from Bolivia, is developing the project "Tinkunakuy (Reencontrarnos): Tejiendo Saberes" (Reconnecting: Weaving Knowledge), focusing on preserving the Quechua language and ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants through handmade textiles, and showcasing their cultural symbolism.
