Indigenous Peoples Day 2026

This Indigenous Peoples Day, we celebrate Indigenous organizations in Panama making a difference in the lives of their people and the planet. Native Future partners with the following organizations - directly funding their work - to support shared Indigenous rights and conservation objectives.

The Wounaan Podpa Nʌm Pömaan, or Wounaan National Congress, is the governing body of nearly 11,000 Indigenous Wounaan people in Panama. Founded in 1998, it advocates for Wounaan rights and territorial recognition. Every two years, Wounaan communities gather to discuss priorities, hear reports, and celebrate their culture. And every four years they elect their national leaders — including the national Cacique (Chief), President, and Vice President of the Wounaan National Congress — to represent the Wounaan people nationally and internationally. In 1999, the Congress created the Foundation for the Development of the Wounaan People to manage its programs and strengthen community development.

The Foundation for the Development of the Wounaan People (FUNDEPW) turns the Wounaan community’s vision into action. This Panamanian nonprofit brings together local and national leaders, technicians, and advisors to implement our shared goals: secure land rights, protect the natural resources important to their way of life, revitalize language and culture, and create sustainable livelihoods. Guided by a dedicated Board of Directors, FUNDEPW works to ensure the Wounaan people can thrive on their ancestral lands for generations to come.

Geo Indigena is Panama’s Indigenous-led geo-informatics group, combining technology and traditional knowledge to serve Indigenous communities. For nearly a decade, they’ve provided mapping and spatial analysis to organizations, like the Wounaan National Congress, helping Indigenous leaders protect and manage their territories. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their groundbreaking map —featured by National Public Radio (NPR) in the US—showed the virus’s impact across Indigenous lands. Today, Native Future partners with Geo Indigena to develop powerful data visualization tools to the partners and projects we support.

The newly incorporated Ngäbe Foundation for Ecological Development (FUDEN) is the first Ngäbe and Buglé-led non-profit organization in the Nürüm District of the Ngäbe Buglé Comarca. In its initial stages of formation, it aims to address environmental and food security challenges through sustainable agriculture and the revitalization of Ngäbe and Buglé language and culture. Native Future is supporting the training and development of the FUDEN Board of Directors to establish a solid foundation from which their organization can grow.

The 128th Legislature of the State of Maine, where Native Future is incorporated, enacted Indigenous Peoples Day "in recognition of the historic, cultural and contemporary significance of the indigenous peoples of the lands that later became known as the Americas, including Maine, and the many contributions of these peoples." Since 2010, the Central American country of Panama has officially recognized Indigenous Peoples Day on August 9th of each year. The organizations we partner with work daily to keep their cultures, languages and histories alive, and address the inequalities their people continue to face. The newly launched Learning and Leadership Program will strengthen their capacity to meet their missions.