About
Vision, governance, ethics and how to contribute.
AKAL is a trilingual reference platform documenting Indigenous Peoples and pastoralism around the world, built with and for the communities it represents. It gathers reliable, source-based knowledge — people fact sheets, an interactive map and legal frameworks — in English, French and Spanish, so that this heritage is accessible and shared with respect.
Today AKAL brings together: fact sheets on Indigenous and pastoralist peoples (identity, way of life, rights, threats); an interactive world map of their territories, with deliberately approximate locations; a section on pastoralism; a rights section with international legal instruments and case law; a directory of organizations; and news and open opportunities. The platform grows as communities propose and validate new content.
Built on the CARE principles (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, Ethics) and Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Communities decide what is published, restricted or withheld. Sacred sites are never mapped.
A validation council of indigenous representatives, researchers, youth and women reviews every fact sheet before publication.
Suggest corrections, propose a people's fact sheet with your community, translate content, or list your organization via the membership form on the Organizations page.
Phase 2: full organizations directory, indigenous languages module, media library, online academy, community space.