Eligibility

Applicant must be indigenous (definition below) or a member of a local indigenous community.

The modern understanding of this term used and advanced by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is based on the following:

• Self-identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the community as their member   
• Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies
• Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources
• Distinct social, economic or political systems
• Distinct language, culture and beliefs
• Form non-dominant groups of society
• Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities   

For applicants who meet the above criteria, additional preference will be given to:

• Women
• Youth (18-28)
• Exchange from the following regions: African Rift Valley, Central Asia & Turkey, Southwest U.S. & Northern Mexico, Northern Australia, and Melanesia
• First time traveler