CIELO
Comunidades Indígenas en liderazgo (CIELO) is an indigenous women-led organization that works with indigenous-migrant communities in Los Angeles. CIELO organizes to assure racial justice for indigenous-migrant communities who have been marginalized and underserved for many years. We have multiple approaches to addressing the barriers these communities face. We work at a community level by organizing events that focus on decolonizing our perceptions of indigeneity, creating empowerment at an individual level. We accomplish this by hosting events that foment new ways of identity formation, providing mediums that positively frame indigenous identity and languages.
The Center for Indigenous Language and Power (CILP)
CIELO created the Center for Indigenous Language and Power (CILP) in response to the vast population of indigenous migrants from Mexico and Guatemala that has made a high demand for trained interpreters in Indigenous languages throughout the United States. CILP responds to the multiple needs that interpreters require to provide the most accurate interpretation while building power and sustainable leadership in the interpreters themselves. It is important to us to plant leadership in various parts of the United States, given the vast and urgent need. We provide continuous education for interpreters through workshops given by experts in their field alongside Indigenous seasoned interprets guiding the new generation in breaking down the terminology in indigenous languages. We also organized the first and only national indigenous interpreters conference to provide networking space to build relationships throughout our indigenous interprets networks. We also know that it’s important to address the secondary trauma caused by analyzing difficult situations; therefore, we also provide mental health services to the interpreters. CILP also provides cultural awareness training to social service offers to educate about indigenous communities in the U.S while also providing education on how to identify a language best. We also connect social service providers, federal-local and state courts, and hospitals with Indigenous language interpreters. CIELP is also currently working on launching our app that will facilitate the scheduling of interpreters.
