Survival International

We are Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples. We’re fighting for their survival around the world. More than one hundred and fifty million men, women and children in over sixty countries live in tribal societies. They’re mostly self-sufficient and depend on their land for their health and wellbeing. To tribal peoples, land is life.

Tribal peoples are our contemporaries. They’re not primitive. They have technology, laws, education, religions, and social, political and economic structures. They developed many of the medicines now used by industrialized societies, and created some of the principal staple foods like maize and potatoes that now feed millions. Tribal peoples shaped the environment and help make the world a better place. Tribal societies are extraordinarily diverse and there’s a lot to learn from them. They understand the natural world and are expert conservationists.

Many tribal peoples have enlightened social values. They’re not brutal savages as is sometimes claimed. They put the community before the individual, share and exchange possessions rather than amass personal wealth, and embrace gender equality. Tribal peoples are at the mercy of racism, land theft, forced development and genocidal violence. Their human rights are being violated. Their lands and resources are stolen for profit, even though land theft is a crime under international law. Tribal lands give them food, housing, medicines, clothing and a sense of identity and belonging. Land theft causes destitution, disease and death, and it’s wiping out uncontacted tribes. The world needs tribal peoples. Our work is preventing their annihilation. We work in partnership with tribes and give them a platform to speak to the world. We need your support to bring about a radical change in public opinion to make sure they have a future. Help us fight one of the most urgent and horrific humanitarian crises of our time. Tribal peoples need you. Let’s fight for their survival, together.