A Right to be Heard

Argent moons myriad known, beneath an endless zenith sky
When hotter suns unaltered and stars ruled as aperture fever of a night
Around a fire this Naabeeho song begun, sung louder than a heaven's choir
As “Soaring Feather” was tuft mothered, from Navajo out of Chief Eagle Gray's desire

But, now less wild panes opaque of Dine', behind leather eyes am I
Brittle bone to withered dust, a desert sage that dries
And I plead one last dream before doors beyond forever
Gazing east, out cross, fallen white of Navajo still November

I am blinded into vision winds, so quickened unto rapture
Swept along the swaying prairie grass, messenger of earth then after
The billowing, ghosts of buffalo left innocence roaming over head
And I rise in the morning mist, wings tall on Appaloosa's empathic wrath

Regrets ascending gallop to step upon plateau in reach of raven's tail plumose
Reborn as Yei to hunt the sky, shed the herds of swifting nimbus
A changeling caught within a current writhe, transcending into tempest, high
Quelling ages and ages of limitations, let the lightning bolts of redress fly

A warrior of the Holy Ones, my tabernacle on mother earth drifting dies
But, on painted horse run rising up, a brazen spirit storm comes alive
Free amidst the gale, thunderous beats in temporal instrumental
As clouds begin to blacken, past native spirits dance ceremonial into tornado

Hozoji drums beating round and round, whirlwind roar of nightly chants
I, Navajo dreamer stampeding across the azure plains of my once pure native land
Recompense only to scourge prejudice away and humble the most of evil men
And then stillness, a silent healing song, as forgiveness is a welcome friend

By Michael Smith (Dine)

Austro-Polynesian Indigenous Music Festival Held in Taiwan

On October 8^th and 9^th, Indigenous Peoples, artists and musicians from around Austronesia and Polynesia gathered in Taiwan for the Amis Music Festival, one the largest Indigenous music festivals in the world. Over 10,000 people were in attendance for 2 days of music. Most of the sets for the 3 different stages were hand crafted by local Indigenous artists working with bamboo, embroidery, and the wind.

Watch Indigenous groups from all over austro-polynesia enter the festival below:

Indigenous groups performed together on the cultural stage, and there were also individual and band performances by world renown Indigenous artists:

Fellowships

FSC Indigenous Fellowship Program
“The FSC-IF invites applications from Indigenous Peoples to enable them to strengthen their skills, knowledge, capacities, and networks through fellowship opportunities with the aim to facilitate the implementation of a project at the sub-national, national, regional, or global level and to share their experience and learning process with their Indigenous peers.”

Indigenous Leaders Conservation Fellowship
“Through this fellowship, we are creating opportunities for Indigenous leaders to explore solutions to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss using the traditional knowledge of men and women.”

NAIS Fellowship
“The NAIS Fellowship seeks to support emerging scholars — such as graduate students, early career faculty, and community-based scholars — working within or across the international, interdisciplinary arenas of Indigenous Studies.”

Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship
“The Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship promotes intellectual leadership in Native American communities by supporting outstanding Native Americans who hail from a wide variety of fields and who utilize different modes of expression in communicating their knowledge and work.”

Scholarships (refugees and scholars from conflict zones)

HEC Paris – Imagine Fellows
“The HEC Foundation and HEC Paris, driven by the conviction that higher education has a key role to play in making the world a more peaceful place, have created “HEC Imagine Fellows”, a unique scholarship program intended for students from war-torn countries.”

Scholarship for Displaced Students – Columbia University
“The Scholarship supports displaced students from anywhere in the world who are unable to complete their higher education. These students will receive up to full tuition, housing, and living assistance while pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees…”

Humanitarian Scholarship – University of Manchester
“The University of Manchester has created fully-funded scholarships for 20 students who are fleeing war and persecution, with people now able to apply to start studying in September.”

Sanctuary Scholarships – University of Edinburgh
“The scheme aims to provides further academic training for doctoral students whose research studies have been affected by conflict.”

DAFI Scholarship – UNHCR (Myanmar not included)
“The DAFI (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative) scholarship programme offers qualified refugee and returnee students the possibility to earn an undergraduate degree in their country of asylum or home country.”

Sanctuary Scholarships – University of Bradford
“The University of Bradford provides these scholarships to enable new students seeking asylum, or those already granted refugee status who cannot access student finance, to participate in higher education.”

Additional Resources

inHERE Project – Higher Education in Europe

Explore UN’s Higher Education Scholarship Opportunity Board

Times Higher Education – University Scholarships for Refugee Students