Indigenous Migrant Communities and Their Fight for Visibility

“Indigenous Migrant Communities and Their Fight for Visibility” short talk delivered by Janet Martinez, Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO) at GEO's 2024 National Conference in Los Angeles on May 21, 2024.
Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO) has led the charge in creating visibility for the Indigenous migrant community. Through our Undocu Indigenous fund, we mapped linguistic diversity. We have continued to push for visibility through our recent billboard campaign. One of the fundamental gaps we must address is the lack of information many people have regarding Indigenous migrant communities in the United States. CIELO has been innovative in its campaign to create awareness and knowledge, and we would like to share how our work has changed the conversation about Indigenous rights throughout the U.S.
Janet Martinez (she/her)
Co-Founder/ Vice Executive Director, Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO)
Janet Martinez is the co-founder/ Vice executive director of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO). She is a Bene Xogsho (Zapotec) born in Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of California. Janet has engaged issues facing indigenous migrant communities through her writing; she has published articles on topics including new approaches to gendered leadership in Indigenous communities and the challenges facing youths in Indigenous migrant communities. She Co-led the We Are Here map, which is the first map of the linguistic diversity of Indigenous Los Angeles. Additionally, she collaborated on UCLA’s mapping Indigenous L.A. Ms. Martinez organized the Indigenous Literature Conference and Weaving Words and Rhymes for the past four consecutive years. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Ozy, Vogue, and Telesur. Currently, she is a host on the podcast Tu’un Dali, a podcast for and by Indigenous people.