Transcript for the Piece Audio version of The State We're In: Columbus Day Special

THE STATE WE?RE IN

SEGMENT A: The Chagos Islanders: the right to return home (12:30)

PROGAM TAG: (:29)

Chagos Islanders: The right to return home: Jonathan talks with RNW?s Eric Beauchemin about the plight of the Chagos Islanders, who have been fighting to return to their home islands in the Indian Ocean. We hear from Olivier Bancoult, a Chagossian activist; David Vine, a Ph.D. candidate at the City University of New York; and Stephen Allan, a lecturer in law at Brunel University in the UK.

TEASER B: Jonathan tells us what?s coming up in the B segment

MUSIC BED (1:30)

SEGMENT B: 18:30 THIS WEEK?S THEME IS ?The Right to Recognition?

Mohawk women fighting for recognition: All over the globe indigenous activists seek equity and opportunities in areas of society which others take for granted ? areas like education, health and employment.
Someone who knows all about fighting for human rights & recognition for her people is Ellen Gabriel, President of Native Women?s Association in the Canadian province of Quebec. She?s a citizen of the Mohawk nation. Along with other First Nations people, the Mohawks have legal recognition. Ellen says it?s not enough.

Indigenous language recognition in Morocco causes tension: The Berbers of North Africa are the region's original, indigenous people. But their language - commonly known under the umbrella title of Amazigh - has not been the lingua franca since the Arab invasion in the 7th century. Marginalised and not written down, the language is currently undergoing a remarkable transformation in Morocco. For political and religious reasons, the Government is suddenly recognising and encouraging Amazigh. As Sylvia Smith reports, this brings its own problems.

The Maoris are flying high: While the New Zealand Maoris have signigicant social problems, their culture is internationally known. They have spawned numerous high-flying artists, actors, musicians, lawyers, military personnel and politicians. We talk with Dr Aroha Harris, an author and poet from the Te Rarawa people. She?s also a history lecturer at the University of Auckland. Jonathan asks her why the Maoris are so recognized & what that means for the culture.

TEASER C: Jonathan tells us what?s coming up in the C segment

MUSIC BED (1:30)

SEGMENT C: The Tent ? two generations of Inuit women in the arctic. 18:30

THE TENT: Inuit culture in the Canada Arctic
A short documentary about an Inuit mother and daughter living in the Canadian Arctic. Mary Wilman was born in a home-made tent on the barrens. She moved to the Arctic capital of Iqaluit as a child. She was sent south to residential school to learn English.
Her daughter Noami lives a typical North American life and is studying to become a lawyer. She?s had to re-learn her mother?s language. Together they recreate inuit traditions which were almost lost. Every year the women camp on the barrens in a home-made tent.

CLOSING MONTAGE:
MUSIC BED (1:00)
PODCAST RUNDOWN: This week on The State Were In, we mark Colombus Day by looking at the rights of indigenous peoples. We hear about the struggle of the people of the Chagos Islands to return home, the rights of Mohawk women, the Maoris, Inuits, and Berbers.