The Q'eqchi' (also Kekchi and K'ekchi) are one of the Maya peoples in Guatemala and Belize, whose indigenous language is also called Q'eqchi'.
Before the beginning in the 1520s of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, Q'eqchi' settlements were concentrated in what are now the departments of Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz. Over the course of the succeeding centuries a series of land displacements, resettlements, persecutions and migrations resulted in a wider dispersal of Q'eqchi' communities, into other regions of Guatemala (Izabal, Petén, El Quiché), southern Belize (Toledo District), and smaller numbers in El Salvador, Honduras and southern Mexico (Chiapas, Campeche). While most notably present in northern Alta Verapaz and southern Petén, contemporary Q'eqchi' language-speakers are the most widely spread geographically of all Guatemalan Mayan groups.
Adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Q'eqchi' Peoples
Quechuas (also Runakuna, Kichwas, and Ingas) is the collective term for several indigenous ethnic groups in South America who speak a Quechua language (Southern Quechua mainly), belonging to several ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.
The Quechuas of Ecuador call themselves as well as their language Kichwa - Kichwas or Quichuas. In Colombia, the Kichwa-speaking group calls themselves the Ingas. Other Quechua speakers call themselves Runakuna (“People”; in Junín and parts of Ancash, Peru: Nunakuna; singular: Runa or Nuna).
The speakers of Quechua, who total some 9-14 million people in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia and Argentina, have so far only slightly developed a common sense of identity. The various Quechua dialects are in some cases so different that no mutual understanding is possible. Quechua was not only spoken by the Incas, but in some cases also by long-term enemies of the Inca Empire. These include the Huanca (Wanka is a Quechua dialect spoken today in the Huancayo area) and the Chanka (the Chanca dialect of Ayaqcucho) of Peru, and the Kañari (Cañar) in Ecuador. Quechua was spoken by some of these peoples, for example, the Wanka, before the Incas of Cusco, while other peoples, especially in Bolivia but also in Ecuador, adopted Quechua only in Inca times or afterward.
However, despite their ethnic diversity and linguistic distinctions, the various Quechua ethnic groups have numerous cultural characteristics in common. They also share many of these with the Aymara, or other indigenous peoples of the central Andes.
Description adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Quechua People
The Rapa Nui or Rapanui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people make up 60% of Easter Island's population, with some living also in mainland Chile. They speak Spanish and Rapa Nui language. At the 2002 census there were 3,304 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.
As of 2011, Rapa Nui's main source of income derived from tourism, which focuses on the giant sculptures called Moai. Some fruits are grown for local use.
Rapa Nui activist have been fighting for their right to self-determination and possession of the island. Recent protests by the indigenous Rapa Nui on Easter Island against Chilean rule has led to violence against the Rapa Nui by the Chilean army.
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are an Indigenous people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability. In their language, the term rarámuri refers specifically to the males, females are referred to as mukí (individually) and as omugí or igómale (collectively).
Originally inhabitants of much of the state of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the high sierras and canyons such as the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century. The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence.
Current estimates put the population of the Rarámuri in 2006 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practice a traditional lifestyle, inhabiting natural shelters such as caves or cliff overhangs, as well as small cabins of wood or stone. Staple crops are corn and beans; however, many of the Rarámuri still practice transhumance, raising cattle, sheep, and goats. Almost all Rarámuri migrate in some form or another in the course of the year.
The Tarahumara language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although it is in decline under pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Tarahumara peoples
The Rendille are a Cushitic speaking ethnic group inhabiting the Kaisut Desert, which is in the North Eastern part of Kenya. They also inhibit the south eastern and southern regions of Mt. Marsbit in the Marsabit Central District .They are often referred to as "the holders of the stick of God".
They are nomadic pastoralists who roam with their camels, goats and most recently cattle across about 16,000 square kilometers of Northern Kenya. Women, children, and older men live in semi-permanent villages that are moved only a few times a year and rarely more than a few kilometers.
The Rendille believe that they belong in the desert not by mistake but because its their "promised land". In their popular morning prayers they pray "your people Wakh (God) cannot climb mountains, cross seas but remain in this promised land in which You have looked after our fore fathers, us and our children's children....".the Rendilles are confined to the desert because their most treasured livestock, the camel, cannot survive in cold mountainous and clay soil environment.
The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group of in Arakan State, western Burma. The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated to the cities of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw.
The current Junta ruling Burma relies heavily on Burmese nationalism and Theravada Buddhism to bolster its rule, it heavily discriminates against minorities like the Rohingya, Chinese people like the Kokang people, and Panthay (Chinese Muslims).
Successive Burmese governments have provoked riots against ethnic minorities like the Rohingya and Chinese. The Burmese state and Burmese Buddhist monks reportedly encouraged violence against the Rohingya.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Rohingya peoples
The Rukai are one of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples. They speak the Rukai language and live in the mountains of southern Taiwan. As of the year 2000, the Rukai numbered 12,084 — making up 3% of Taiwan's total indigenous population and, as such, the fifth-largest indigenous group. The Rukai were also called Tsarisen, which means "people living in the mountain".
The Rukai People honor the Clouded Leopard and the hundred pacer, which they believe to be the spirit of their ancestor.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Rukai people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost and the Nordic countries’ only officially indigenous people. Sami ancestral lands span an area of approximately 388,350 km2 (150,000 sq. mi), which is approximately the size of Sweden in the Nordic countries. Their traditional languages are the Sami languages and are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family. The Sami languages are endangered.
Traditionally, the Sami have pursued a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping and sheep herding. Their best known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding, with which about 10% of the Sami are connected and 2,800 actively involved on a full-time basis. For traditional, environmental, cultural and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved only for Sami people in certain regions of the Nordic countries.
The Sámi are often known in other languages by the exonyms "Lap", "Lapp", or "Laplanders", but many Sami regard these as pejorative terms.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Saami people
The Saisiyat ("true people"), also spelled Saisiat are an indigenous people of Taiwan, part of the larger Taiwanese aborigine ethnic group. In the year 2000 the Saisiyat numbered 5,311. This was approximately 1.3% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them one of the smallest aboriginal groups in that country. The Saisiyat inhabit western Taiwan, overlapping the border between Hsinchu County and Miaoli County. They are divided into the Northern Branch (Wufong in the mountainous Hsinchu area) and the Southern Branch (Nanya and Shitan in the highlands of Miaoli), each with its own dialect. Their language is also known as Saisiyat.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Saisiyat people
The Samburu are a pastoral nomadic tribe of over 150,000 people living in an arid, remote area of Northern Kenya. The name they use for themselves is Lokop or Loikop, a term which may have a variety of meanings which Samburu themselves do not agree on. Many assert that it refers to them as "owners of the land" ("lo" refers to ownership, "nkop" is land) though others present a very different interpretation of the term. The Samburu are cousins of well-known Southern Kenyan tribe Maasai and share the common language of Maa, though there are significant differences in dialect.
Traditionally the Samburu economy was purely pastoralist, striving to survive off the products of their herds of cows, goats, and for some, camels. However, the combination of a significant growth in population over the past 60 years and a decline in their cattle holdings as a result of climate change and theft (and confiscation), has forced them to seek other supplemental forms of livelihood. Some have attempted to grow crops, while many young men have migrated for at least short periods to cities to seek wage work. Many work in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as watchmen, while it is also popular to go to Kenya's coastal resorts where some work; others sell spears and beaded ornaments.
The Santal (also spelled as Santhal; formerly spelt as Sontal), are the largest tribal community in India, who live mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Assam. There is also a significant Santal minority in neighboring Bangladesh, and a small population in Nepal.
On 30 June 1855, two great Santal rebel leaders, Sidhu Murmu and his brother Kanhu, mobilized ten thousand Santals and declared a rebellion against British colonists. The Santals initially gained some success but soon the British found out a new way to tackle these rebels. Instead, they forced them to come out of the forest. In a conclusive battle which followed, the British, equipped with modern firearms and war elephants, stationed themselves at the foot of the hill. When the battle began the British officer ordered his troops to fire without loading bullets. The Santals, who did not suspect this trap set by the British war strategy, charged with full potential. This step proved to be disastrous for them: as soon as they neared the foot of the hill, the British army attacked with full power and this time they were using bullets. Thereafter, attacking every village of the Santals, they made sure that the last drop of revolutionary spirit was annihilated. Although the revolution was brutally suppressed, it marked a great change in the colonial rule and policy. The day is still celebrated among the Santal community with great respect and spirit for the thousands of the Santal martyrs who sacrificed their lives along with their two celebrated leaders to win freedom from the rule of the Jamindars and the British operatives.
The Santal's overall population today is estimate at 6,050,000 people.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Santal people
The Secoya people (also known as Angotero, Encabellao) are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Ecuadorian Amazon or The Oriente region of Ecuador (est. population 297 (1987 Vickers)), and in Peru (est. population 144 (1982 SIL)). They speak the Secoya language, part of the Western Tucanoan group. They share territory along the Shushufindi, Aguarico, and Cuyabeno river with the Siona people, with whom they are sometimes considered a single population.
The Siona people are organized politically through the Secoya Indigenous Organization of Ecuador. They have been involved in a conflict with Occidental Petroleum over oil drilling in Block 15 of Ecuador."In a media landscape made up of lies, flash, giant blind spots and corporatized sites of distraction, Intercontinental Cry is a trustworthy pathway to the truth where people who are committed to understanding Indigenous realities can gain insight and information to illuminate and activate their struggles."
Taiaiake Alfred
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