More About Indigenous Rights

Ese Eja: A Young Nation Guided by Ancestral Vision

Our Amazon Defender's Fund supports Indigenous sovereignty during the COVID-19 pandemic

One Amazonian nation that has prioritized addressing collective needs in their community during the pandemic has been the Ese Eja. It is now a young nation with a clear political vision, solid organizing, and communal ties. With a direct grant from the ADF, the Ese Eja have equipped their health posts with oxygen concentrators in each of their communities, dug water wells, and strengthened river transportation between communities using small canoes. "Our communities now have oxygen concentrators and basic health equipment that even some larger centralized hospitals do not have," shared Cesar Augusto.

#AdiosGeoPark: Peruvian Indigenous Peoples Expel Another Oil Company

The Achuar People of the Pastaza and the Wampis Nation secure a new victory for the climate justice movement by defeating fossil fuel company GeoPark

Today, we celebrate a major victory after years of collaboration and hard work to fend off another multinational oil company that was supported by the world's largest investment firms and powerful governments. This is a significant win not just for the Indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon, but for all communities around the world resisting extractive industries that are invading their territories and destroying the planet. Oil companies would be wise to recognize that our global movement to keep it in the ground is effective when led by Indigenous resistance. We aren't backing down, and we're only getting stronger with every win.

Indigenous Resistance Expels Oil Company GeoPark from Peruvian Amazon

The Chile-based oil company's announcement follows years of protests, lawsuits, outreach to major shareholders, and direct advocacy with the CEO

"GeoPark's departure from Block 64 is a testament to the vision and persistence of the Achuar people and Wampis Nation, both of which have a long history of successfully expelling oil companies from their ancestral territories. Let this be the final nail in Block 64's coffin," said Andrew Miller, Advocacy Director at Amazon Watch.

The Munduruku and Kayapo Are Fighting to Protect Their Past and Future

In response to the government's malign neglect in the Brazilian Amazon during the pandemic, our Amazon Defenders Fund, in partnership with allies, delivers oxygen concentrators and crucial health equipment

We are witnessing the devastating effects of negligent and narcissistic government leadership, as COVID-19 cases continue to explode from the U.S. to the Amazon. Scientists, health experts, and Indigenous peoples are rightfully calling out governments for their failure to prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. In the Amazon, our Indigenous partners warned us months ago about the potential ethnocide they were facing as health systems – which were already inaccessible to many Indigenous communities – began to collapse.

"No One Is Free Until We Are All Free"

The Movement for Black Lives and the Climate Justice Movement Are Inextricably Linked

The United States is in the midst of what some are now calling a "new civil rights movement." During such a groundbreaking historical moment, it is of paramount importance that the environmental and climate movements understand the connection between our work to stop climate chaos and the movement to end systemic racism. This intersectional analysis guides us in our mission and programs at Amazon Watch.

Forests and Human Rights: Principles for Asset Managers

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has no clear policy on forests, land, and human rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities

In light of BlackRock's commitments to center climate in its investment strategy and the responsibilities it has stemming from its continued financing of deforestation-linked commodities, the BlackRock's Big Problem campaign urges BlackRock and other asset managers to adopt policies on Forests, Land, and the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

BlackRock's Silence on Forest Destruction

It says all you need to know about its ineffective climate policies

After years of pressure from shareholders and legislators, BlackRock finally seemed ready to acknowledge the climate crisis in January, when it announced it would "place climate at the center of its investment strategy." On the surface, the move seemed to send a clear message that business as usual was over. Yet, it has been far from clear what practical good BlackRock's commitment to a "climate-centered" investment strategy does for the climate – or the future of life on earth.

An Effective Response to Crisis in the Amazon Requires Global Collaboration

When the novel coronavirus first began to emerge as a global pandemic, its spread also carried centuries of collective memories of the diseases that previously decimated Indigenous peoples across the Americas. Indigenous peoples across the Amazon began to ban outsiders from their territories and disperse preventative information and resources in their communities.

Jane Fonda, Carlos Santana, Morgan Freeman and Peter Gabriel to Headline Global Livestream Event Supporting COVID-19 Relief in the Amazon

Artists United for Amazonía is livestream event for the benefit of the Amazon Emergency Fund, an indigenous-led effort providing rapid response grants across the Amazon to address the pandemic

On May 28, 2020, Jane Fonda, Morgan Freeman, Carlos Santana, Peter Gabriel, and numerous other artists will join Indigenous leaders, scientists, and a broad coalition of NGOs in hosting Artists United for Amazonía: Protecting the Protectors, a global livestream event.