Cultural Survival

Last updated
Cultural Survival
Founded1972
Type Non-governmental organization
Focus Indigenous rights
Location
Area served
Worldwide
Website culturalsurvival.org

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] .

Contents

Mission and Vision

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."

History

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.

PONSACS

The Program on Nonviolent Sanctions in Conflict (PNS), a research division of Harvard's Center for International Affairs, was created by Gene Sharp in 1983. [3] Its focus was the use of nonviolent sanctions as a substitute for violent interventions. Sharp also founded the independent non-profit Albert Einstein Institution (AEI) a few months later, which became the funding body for the Program. [4]

In 1995 (some years after Sharp's departure) PNS merged with Cultural Survival, creating the Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival (PONSACS). PONSACS focussed on "nonviolent alternatives for the preservation of all peoples and their cultures", flourishing for ten years before eventually closing in 2005. [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Charity Navigator".
  2. ↑ "Remembering Pia: The Heart of Cultural Survival | Cultural Survival". www.culturalsurvival.org. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  3. 1 2 "In Memoriam: Gene Sharp, 1928–2018". Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  4. ↑ The First Five Years: 1983–1988 and Plans for the Future: President's report (PDF) (Report). The Albert Einstein Institution. 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.