How Amazonian communities are fighting for self-determination and leading the way toward a just and sustainable future

Introduction

Now that weʻve come to understand colonialism in the Amazon and the global systems that perpetuate it, letʻs focus on the communities and activists who are working to assert their sovereignty and dismantle the extractive systems that we are all entangled in. As Edgar Villanueva writes, “[Those] who have been forced to the margins are the very ones who harbour the best solutions for healing, progress, and peace, by virtue of our outsider perspectives and resilience” (Villanueva, 2018).

Indigenous Amazonians have known, since colonization started, that the way the West lives would never amount to real wealth. They have seen the wealth of their lands be turned into stagnant money that leaves their communities; they’ve seen the holes of extraction be dug ever deeper for the gain of none. They’ve seen the “civilizers”’ civilization descend into chaos, and their people be massacred. They are fighting, day after day, for the end of such exploitation; they are fighting for the liberation of the world from the servitude of capitalism; for life and land to be valued more than the almighty dollar.

In this module, we will highlight a variety of these different forms of protest. Indigenous Amazonian communities are fighting for self-determination is so many ways, including public demonstrations, social media, film, art, healing circles and education. Much more exists than what could be shared here, and we encourage you to not only dive deeper into what is interesting for you from here, but to research for yourself the different forms of protest, and connect with those that call to you. The fight for self-determination needs everyone’s help, no matter how far you are.

Activities

These resources share glimpses into the variety of movements of resistance. Please observe how each resource cross-cuts the types of activism possible (art, public demonstration, social media, film, education, etc) and how this cross-cutting might aid their mission.

In this poem, activist and newly elected Indigenous Congresswoman Célia Xakriabá performs a poem about the leadership of Indigenous women in building better worlds.

Please watch the following video, detailing what it is like to defend life in Brazil

The day in the life of an environment defender in Brazil

Please look into the Living Schools initiative by Selvegem. If you have the time, please check out the Selvagem website.

https://selvagemciclo.com.br/en/colabore

Please watch the following trailer about Indigenous Guardians in the Amazon. If youʻre able to rent the film, we highly encourage you to do so.

Alternatively, if you have Disney+, please watch the Territory, a film that follows the Uru-eu-wau-wau people as they defend their ancestral territories from cattle ranchers who want to log the forest.

Reflection

• Please write down your three favorite lines from these resources and share with a friend or peer on why they were significant to you
• How do you think the activism of these communities is influencing the fate of the Amazon?
• How do these communities keep the Amazon safe?
• What do you think would happen if these communities were in charge of the Amazon, instead of governments? What would change?
• Do you think these communities can work with existing governments to preserve their lands?

Activity

Please watch this 20-minute video about the use of music in resistance:

Reflection

What is the significance of music in your life? What about for these communities? How does music connect us?

Activity

Learning Session with Nina Gualingá

In this session, Nina Gualingá, an Amazonian activist, leader, and mother, walks viewers through the entangled histories of colonialism in the Amazon- of land, body, and mind- and the resistance by Indigenous Amazonian communities to maintain their territory, which connects, land, body, mind, and spirit. She particularly explains the multiple layers of violence Indigenous women face due to how motherhood connects them to the land, and how motherhood serves as a space to (re)create worlds that heal, repair, and nurture all women, of land and body.

To access, sign in here with the email **willowvolkert@gmail.com** and the password GreenNarratives123

Reflection

Please take 30 minutes to reflect on this session, either in conversation with a peer or through journaling. Please use the following questions as prompts to explore your own reactions

• In the session, Nina talked about learning coming with the responsibility of caring. What does this statement mean to you? How does learning about colonialism in the Amazon, and globally, deepen our entanglements and responsibilities?
• What is the importance of territory to Indigenous Amazonian communities? What is the territory a vessel for?
  • Answer: territory is an interdependent system of relationships which Indigenous people steward, and through stewardship and relationship, become a part of; it is the vessel for knowledge, stories, and culture
  Nina describes the territory as “the trees, the soil, the flowers, the scents… the diversity of plants, the mountains and animals. But it’s also the stories, it’s the memory of who we are, the memory of our ancestors and everything we’ve gone through, everything we are, everything we represent, it’s the culture, the art, the buildings we make. And it’s even the dreams, our dreams for the future. all of this is the territory, and when we talk about defending the territory, we’re talking about protecting not just the land itself- the soil and ecosystems- but everything that makes this place what it i.s”
  • What does the territory mean to you? How can you defend it holistically?
• Nina talks about imagining what the world and the Amazon looked like “before colonization and borders separated these stories and relationships”. Please journal and/or draw for 5-10 minutes of what things would look like in your eyes.

Nina says that, “when extractive industry comes in, we experience, feel, and dream a violation of the land as a direct violation of our own bodies, and of the collective community. It’s a violation of our historical memory and all of the knowledge that’s been transmitted from generation to generation”.

• How do you view this connection between land, body, and spirit? How does this apply to all humans? Are we all connected to the earth is such an inextricable and entangled way? Why or why not?
• When discussing trauma and the reproduction of violence, Nina says that “hurt people hurt other people”. Have you seen this in your life before? How do you think we can stop these cycles of harm?

When discussing healing, Nina says that “seeing women come together in a network of support and resistance to repair the fragmentation of our own communities, inspiring new generations and leaders to not only remember who we are and where we come from, but also to remember that through that connection we have a responsibility and opportunity to repair and create new systems where we as women can heal and thrive, and so can the territory. The fight for the preservation of our planet must be a work that heals and repairs our communities.”

• How do you think repairing the oppression of women and the degradation of the land are connected? What strategies of protection, resistance, or reconnection do you think could address both issues?

Finally, Nina speaks to the role of non-indigenous women as stepping into responsibility and action.

• If you are non-Indigenous, how can you step into responsibility and action to build better worlds?
• If you already have connections to nature, how do you cultivate a relationship with the land while encouraging responsible relations and showing up for those who need it?

Conclusion

Amazonian communities are fighting for visibility and self-determination in so many different ways. Through support, collaboration, and education, they can succeed in regaining sovereignty and stopping the insidious exploitation of their lands. Your support of these communities- through time, money, or energy- is absolutely essential for their success. The fight for sovereignty will only succeed through solidarity. Although not Amazonian, this song speaks to the resistance of Indigenous communities around the globe to colonialism and capitalism and how they can stand in solidarity with one another.

Another great inspiration is The Future is Ancestral, available on all streaming platforms.

Reflection

What have you learned from this module? List at least three things

Bibliography

Alok. The Future is Ancestral. Spotify, 2024.

Gualinga, Nina. Learning Session. Woven Women, 2024.

Mi Mawai. Music is a Weapon of Warriors (Struggle for Life Camp 2021). Youtube, 2021.

Ross, Benjamin and Neff, Brittany. Guardians of the Forest: Brazil. CoReality & Scenic; If Not Us Then Who, 2018.

Takuá, Cristine. Living Schools Initiative. Selvagem, 2024.

Tijoux, Ana. Somos Sur. Youtube, 2022.

Villanueva, E. Decolonizing Wealth. Berrett-Koeheler Publishers, 2018.

We Are Guardians. We Are Guardians (Somos Guardiões): Official Trailer. We Are Guardians, 2023.

Xakriabá, Celiá. Célia Xakriabá performs a poem at the 2nd Indigenous Women’s March. Amazon Watch, 2022.