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Founded | 1972 |
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Type | Non-governmental organization |
Focus | Indigenous rights |
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Area served | Worldwide |
Website | culturalsurvival.org |
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Indigenous rights |
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Cultural Survival is an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, that advocates for the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world. Founded in 1972, the organization supports Indigenous communities in achieving self-determination, preserving their cultures, languages, and traditional knowledge, and strengthening political and environmental resilience. As of 2025, Cultural Survival holds a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. [1]
Cultural Survival’s mission is to "advocate for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience." Cultural Survival envisions "a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance."
Founded by David Maybury-Lewis, Evon Zartman Vogt, and Orlando Patterson —professors at Harvard University — and Pia Maybury‑Lewis [2] (wife of David Maybury-Lewis), the organization originated in response to their fieldwork among the Xerente and Xavante peoples in Brazil during the 1950s and 60s. Their experiences observing the threats posed by Amazonian development inspired the creation of a global advocacy organization for Indigenous human rights.
Cultural Survival’s first office opened on March 2, 1972, on the fifth floor of Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Early leadership included David Maybury‑Lewis as President, Orlando Patterson as Treasurer, Evon Z. Vogt Jr. as Clerk, and Pia Maybury‑Lewis as co-founder. Today, its main office is located at 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, on Massachusett land.
The organization became Indigenous‑led in 2011 when Suzanne Benally (Navajo and Santa Clara Tewa) was appointed Executive Director, becoming its first Indigenous leader. She was succeeded in 2019 by Galina Angarova (Buryat), and the current Executive Director, Aimee Roberson (Choctaw & Chickasaw), assumed the role in July 2024.
Cultural Survival executes a holistic strategy comprising grantmaking, capacity building, advocacy, Indigenous communications, and Cultural Survival Bazaars. Programmatic priorities include climate change solutions, land rights and livelihoods, cultural and language revitalization, and Indigenous community media. A cross-cutting focus is placed on Indigenous women and youth.