Intercontinental Cry‘s online publication for world indigenous studies is more like a grassroots journal. This site is an excellent example of using technology to connect Indigenous groups around the world.
I explored several of the opinions, news, and editorials that can be found on this website; here are some of the titles covered:
- Illegal miners in Venezuela
- Blockaded dam in Malaysia
- Sacred Sites and Indigenous Peoples of the Altai
- Brazil: Indigenous Peoples Demand Repeal of ‘Anti-Indian’ Decree
- Urgent Action Needed To Protect Ancient Marpole Village And Burial Site From Destruction.
Each of these stories goes into more depth and lead to further links and information on the subject. This type of website offers all Indigenous communities who wish to do so, a platform for expressing their concerns about various subjects that affect their communities. I believe this type of media forum can serve to inform each other and the world about issues, and it can also be used to learn from each other. Perhaps such a platform can also provide Indigenous communities with strength in number and offer them ideas and ways to protect their collective histories and ancestral ways.
Each web news segment also offers the opportunity to blog, with many comments supporting various causes. It is interesting to note that this site provides the Musqueam people the ability to get a worldwide audience to react to their plight. The story on the Musqueam Marpole ancestral burial site under “Canada” was interesting and will be noted in my final paper.
It is my opinion that the Internet was an important tool for the Musqueam people in propagating their issue and in resolving the matter. Thus I conclude that various forms of media: the Internet, blogs, videos, interviews etc. did serve to protect and disseminate their collective history. I also believe that other Indigenous groups can likely use this example as a guide for their own struggles and give them ideas about how to work with government entities to resolve issues.