lois

    The theme for this year’s National Indigenous Peoples Month – "Weaving Culture, Enriching Future: Empowering Indigenous Communities as Bedrock of Sustainable Development" – is easy to understand but full of meaning. It tells us that IP cultures aren’t just stories from long ago – they’re alive today and can help us build a better tomorrow for everyone. The word "weaving" fits perfectly: just like a weaver puts together many threads to make strong cloth, we need to bring in IP ways of life, knowledge, and voices to make our country grow well.   IP communities have looked after our forests, rivers, and seas for hundreds of years. Their old ways of farming, fishing, and taking care of nature give us smart ideas to fix problems like climate change and pollution. When we give these communities the power to make decisions about their own lands, they show us how to earn money without hurting the environment. This doesn’t just respect their rights – it makes our future ...