“Empowering Indigenous communities to exercise their right to access to justice and to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.”#IndigenousPeoples
#IndigenousWeek
In June 2016, after 17 years of negotiation, the OAS General Assembly adopted the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The historic milestone reaffirmed the commitment of the OAS Member States to recognize, promote and protect the fundamental rights of over 70 million indigenous peoples in the hemisphere.
The American Declaration includes provisions that address the particular situation of indigenous peoples in the Americas and affirms their basic right to self-determination, education, healthcare, self-government, cultural practice, lands, territories and natural resources, as well as to gender equality for indigenous women, among other fundamental rights.
In 2017, the General Assembly adopted the Plan of Action for implementation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2017-2021), and in 2018 the Permanent Council adopted a Resolution establishing the Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples, which aims to promote the traditions, languages, history, and societal contributions of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Since then, the OAS has celebrated this week around August 9 each year to coincide with the observation of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
In that vein, the OAS is highlighting the influence of indigenous peoples in shaping our societies by profiling historically renowned figures who have excelled in their national or hemispheric contribution to Arts and Culture, Sports, Politics, Human Rights, and Science or who through their labor have made a significant contribution to their nations or their region.
PROFILES
CRISTINA BEATRIZ HERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ
Place of Birth: Nahuizalco, Sonsonate, El Salvador
Date of Birth:
A 19-year-old Indigenous young woman from the Sabana San Juan Arriba community, Nahuizalco, Sonsonate, El Salvador.
Currently a law student, Ms. Hernández helps improve children’s progress towards literacy using courses and ancestral teachings. She has been working to help indigenous communities with the management of food packages for lower-income families.
Ms. Hernández Hernández is engaged in efforts to protect her community from environmental disasters by mapping risks and seeking to find solutions with the relevant institutions to prevent landslides, shoring up places that are facing risks from landslides, and promote anti- fumigation campaigns.
She also promotes reforestation campaigns and the cultivation of organic seeds, teaching ancestral wisdom and Mother Earth’s ancestral best practices , avoiding the use of toxic agro-chemicals. Cristina Beatriz Hernández Hernández is member of the Sonsonate youth network that seeks to come up with holistic solutions to community problems and rediscover appropriate processes for decolonization.
CRISTINA BEATRIZ HERNÁNDEZ HERNÁNDEZ
El Salvador
Autumn Peltier
Place of Birth: Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Date of Birth: September 27, 2004
Is a prominent Anishinaabe water-rights advocate and International Indigenous Rights activist.
Raised on the shores of Lake Huron, Autumn Peltier has emerged as a leading voice for clean water access, particularly in Indigenous communities, and for Indigenous collaboration and visibility.
Peltier gained international attention at an Assembly of First Nations gathering by directly challenging the Federal Government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on clean water policies for Indigenous communities. She has spoken multiple times at the United Nations, urging sustainable water management. Her appointment as Chief Water Commissioner in 2019 marked a pivotal moment in her advocacy journey, following in the footsteps of her great-aunt, Josephine Mandamin.
Peltier's relentless activism has earned her nominations for the International Children's Peace Prize and recognition as one of Canada's Top 50 by Maclean's magazine and as one of Elle Magazine’s "100 Women Who Are Changing the World." In 2023, she was welcomed into Canada’s Walk of Fame as the Community Hero Award recipient. Today she continues to inspire global youth, emphasizing the critical importance of clean water for environmental justice and human rights.
Autumn Peltier
Ontario
Vilma Yanira Lisco Patriz
Place of Birth: Nahuizalco, El Carrizal Canton, El Salvador
Date of Birth:
A 36-year-old Náhua Pipil indigenous woman, born in Nahuizalco, El Carrizal Canton, El Salvador. Vilma is the 10th daughter of 12 children in her family, descended from Nahuatl-speaking peoples.
Her entire family has been engaged in community service in El Carrizal. Her mother, who founded the Despertar Alegre Agricultural Cooperative, was her biggest influence and inspiration, having also negotiated the purchase of land in her community for the Catholic church and established a Family ECO (Ministry of Health’s community health team) in the community.
Inheriting that legacy, Yanira has continued her community service work through initiatives with international organizations and the Salvadoran Ministry of Culture, succeeding in building a linear park with the aim of protecting the environment while facilitating healthy recreation for women and children. She also organizes specialized healthcare outreaches for the elderly, helped get furniture for the local school, and became a key player in securing legal ownership of the ECO community, she organized assistance for the elderly in the community by delivering cushioned air mattresses, groceries, and wheelchairs to those in need.
Vilma Yanira Lisco Patriz
El Salvador