The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Regional Office 1, represented by Atty. Marvin C. Biligan, Provincial Officer/Overseer for the Province of La Union, turned over books on Indigenous Cultural Communities to the DOUS Library on October 26, 2023, during the Indigenous Peoples Month Symposium dubbed ASPULAN 2023.  ASPULAN is an Ibaloi/Ivadoy word which means meeting place.

The books are published by the NCIP in partnership with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the Department of Tourism (DOT). The following are the books: 1) “PAGKILALA”: Recognize Indigenous Peoples and Ancestral Domains, 2) “PAGGALANG” Respect: Justice System, Cultural Integrity and Way of Life, and 3) “PAGTAGUYOD” Promote: Tourism Destinations, Protected Areas, Critical Infrastructures, and Natural Resources in Ancestral Domains.

These books are now available in the Reference Section of the DOUS Library.

DOUS has an ongoing P5M research project funded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) called Interface of Iloko-Igorot Cultures in La Union and a P2M project on Indigenous Knowledge Book Publication. Research outputs from these projects were presented during the ASPULAN 2023 on the Research and Extension Day of DOUS, which is part of its 27th Foundation Anniversary Celebration. (By Ces Mabalot)