WAAM Artists & Makers Fair: Indigenous People's Day - October 9

Join Elephant Art Shop and Hudson Valley's best artists and makers. Artist, Samantha Taylor, will be featuring watercolor paintings, prints and cards in celebration of Indigenous People's Day on Monday, October 9.

Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday that celebrates and honors indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures.

There are 476 million indigenous peoples in the world living across 90 countries. They make up less than 5 per cent of the world's population, but account for 15 per cent of the poorest. They speak a majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.

Indigenous Peoples are practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.

Key facts:

-Globally, 47% of all indigenous peoples in employment have no education, compared to 17% of their non-indigenous counterparts. This gap is even wider for women.

-Indigenous Peoples are nearly three times as likely to be living in extreme poverty compared to their non-indigenous counterparts.

Indigenous peoples play an essential role addressing and mitigating climate change as they have knowledge and practices for the sustainable management of natural resources which is critical for protecting our planet for future generations. 

We look forward to seeing you at WAAM.