Indigenous peoples have woven their stories, histories, triumphs, and trials into a web of relationships with all things that have formed and prescribed our way of life. The web of communication that our ancestors have spun binds each of us together and demonstrates how and why we must maintain our traditions. The survival of these relationships, the survival of our essence as Indigenous peoples and the survival of everyone depends on our ability to adapt to new and challenging vibrations traveling throughout the interwoven aspects of human existence.

    We are bound, as participants in the creation and flow of life, by our dependence upon mother earth and the interwoven relationships passed down through the teachings of our ancestors. As Indigenous peoples we cannot remove ourselves from the web of connection and relationship that intricately couples our survival with that of all things. The voices of our ancestors continue to vibrate in our spirit, reaffirming the interconnected bond between our cultures and cultures from different stories, histories, triumphs and trials. We understand that our survival depends upon the survival of the complete diversity of existence and its various forms of expression.

    Out of our ancient understanding of place and responsibility, we as Indigenous peoples are struggling to maintain and cultivate our cultures in the face of increasingly violent and destructive social and physical environments. Indigenous cultural survival is the process of recognizing the uniqueness, beauty and absolute necessity of maintaining Indigenous cultures, as they are linked to the survival of all peoples. The models of spiritually, ecological interaction, law, gender, family, community, peace making, and other synergistic processes that have emerged from Indigenous peoples are crucial elements in negotiating our continued existence as human beings on this planet. The Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival is dedicated to creating collaborative relationships across Indigenous communities that strengthen who we are as Indigenous peoples by sharing the multitude of survival techniques that have been developed in the face of continual pressure to assimilate and conform to an emerging global culture. The knowledge, traditions and relational understanding of how we must live nd survive as Indigenous peoples runs deep throughout all Indigenous communities and provides the root from which shared and collaborative strategies for survival and resistance must grow. The Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival creates the conceptual and educational space where globally, Indigenous peoples can understand the endless possibilities of working collaboratively towards common goals of maintaining and (creating) sustainable systems of language, land, spirituality, sovereignty, health, education, and ways of knowing and doing.

The Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival operates locally in the greater Oregon community, based out of Eugene, Oregon and the University of Oregon. Our work begins with the understanding that we must participate and continue to strengthen our local communities while our vision broadens to include Indigenous communities so we will be able to examine and understand firsthand the various strategies and techniques that create a space for the survival of culture and life as understood by global Indigenous communities.