Abdon is a member of the Batak Toba tribe in North Sumatera, and a pioneer and long-time activist for the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia. Abdon was the Secretary General of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN) for 10 years from 2007 to 2017, and served other roles in AMAN as well. In 2017, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award – widely known as the Nobel Prize in Asia – for being “the single most important person in Indonesia’s IP [Indigenous Peoples] movement.” Bang Abdon was an IP Grants Adviser in the Dedicated Grant Mechanism – Indonesia Project, administered by Samdhana Institute in 2016-2022. He is currently a member of the Executive Council of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact or AIPP.