Solidarity Statement for 42nd Peoples’ Cordillera Day

Solidarity Statement | 42nd Peoples’ Cordillera Day

“Ipinget ti Karbengan iti Daga, Biag, ken Kabiagan!”

(“Assert our Right to Land, Life, and Livelihood!”)

We pay the highest tribute to the Cordillera peoples who continue to stand firm amid intensifying attacks. In the face of terrorist designations, relentless red-tagging, and the escalating militarization of Indigenous communities, they persist in defending their ancestral lands and fundamental rights. These attacks are part of a broader pattern of repression aimed at silencing Indigenous resistance against large-scale mining, energy projects, and other destructive incursions into ancestral lands.

For more than four decades, Peoples’ Cordillera Day has stood as a powerful assertion that the struggles of Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera are not isolated; they reflect the broader conditions and collective resistance of Indigenous communities across the country. It remains a living testament to the strength of unity, culture, and struggle of the Cordillera peoples, whose history of resistance continues to inspire Indigenous movements nationwide.

Led by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, a founding member of Katribu, this historic gathering has grown into more than a commemoration. It has become an enduring source of inspiration and a learning center for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations across the Philippines. From this experience, similar initiatives have emerged and been strengthened, such as Dumagat Day in Rizal and Quezon, Mangyan Day in Mindoro, Tumandok Day in Panay, Mangulayon Day in Mindanao, and others. These are not merely celebrations, but vital spaces for unity, resistance, and the consolidation of our collective movement as Indigenous Peoples.

Across the archipelago, Indigenous communities face the same conditions of land dispossession, poverty, state attacks, and the deepening crisis brought about by imperialist and corporate incursions and state oppression. These realities underscore that the struggle of the Cordillera peoples is inseparable from the struggle of all Indigenous Peoples in the country.

In the face of intensifying imperialist exploitation, worsening poverty, and continuing repression and militarization in our communities, the need for broader and stronger solidarity becomes ever more urgent. This solidarity must not only be strengthened within the ranks of Indigenous Peoples, but also expanded across oppressed peoples. The fight of Indigenous Peoples is fundamentally linked to the struggles of workers, peasants, youth, and other marginalized sectors. Only through a united and collective resistance can we effectively confront the systemic forces that exploit our lands and oppress our communities.

Katribu stands in full and unwavering solidarity with the Cordillera peoples. Your struggle is the struggle of all. Your victories are victories of the Indigenous Peoples.

Let this 42nd Peoples’ Cordillera Day further strengthen our unity and resolve to defend our ancestral lands, assert our right to self-determination, and advance our collective struggle for justice and genuine development.

Defend ancestral lands! Advance the right to self-determination!

Strengthen the united struggle of Indigenous Peoples!

Long live the Cordillera peoples! Long live the united strength of Indigenous Peoples!