More About Indigenous Rights

Amazon Watch Testifies to U.S. Congress on Indigenous Rights in the Amazon

Amazon Watch's Executive Director, Leila Salazar-López, joined allied human rights organizations to testify today to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on the status of the human rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. She spoke specifically to the situation of Indigenous rights in the Amazon Basin.

Manufacturing Consent: Ecuador to Draft New Bill on the Consultation of Indigenous Peoples, Without Consulting Them

"We demand that an FPIC law be put forth in harmony with and respect for our peoples and nations and our ways and time frames for discussion, analysis, and decision-making. We are not going to acquiesce to an illegitimate law written from their desks in Quito," said a CONFENIAE statement. "Since this will be a law regarding the collective rights of Indigenous peoples and nations, we ourselves must be the ones who put forth and define that law. Any law that sidesteps dialogue with us will not be valid and will not be enforceable in the territories of the Indigenous peoples and nations."

Amazon Fires Mapping: Exposing the Destruction with Data

Bolsonaro and his henchmen would have us believe that "the Amazon doesn't catch fire," "the Amazon isn't burning," or even that "Africa is burning much more than Brazil." Yet these flimsy arguments cannot withstand the accurate documentation of how this year's heartbreaking burning season has laid waste to Brazilian ecosystems while incinerating the country's once-touted environmental credentials along with the credibility of its so-called leaders.

In the U.S. Elections, the Amazon Rainforest Is Also on the Ballot

This election in the United States could well be the most consequential of our lifetimes. Racial justice issues are on the ballot. Climate change is on the ballot. The future of the American democratic experiment – as flawed as it has been – is on the ballot. And yes, the Amazon rainforest is also on the ballot.

Overflight Uncovers Environmental Destruction of Munduruku Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian State of Pará

In the Tapajós River basin, Amazônia Real's team, with support from Amazon Watch, spotted predatory deforestation, fires, and mining activity

On September 17, Amazônia Real, in partnership with Amazon Watch, witnessed this attack on the rainforest, Indigenous peoples, smallholder farmers, and biodiversity from up above during a flyover. From the sky, smoke from the fires obscures the environmental destruction on the ground – a combination of extensive deforested areas, pasture farms, and vast illegal mining sites. These activities cause a ripple-effect of ecological damage, from the pollution of rivers, worsening health conditions, to an increase in social conflicts.

Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon Denounce Rights Violations and Government Inaction During COVID-19 Pandemic Before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Quito, Ecuador – The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated Indigenous peoples across the Ecuadorian Amazon, where numbers of cases and deaths continue to rise. It has further exacerbated the threats from oil and mining activity, illegal logging, and food insecurity, and exposed the government's discrimination and abandonment of indigenous peoples.

The Amazon's Frontline Defenders Are Under Siege. Where Are Their Reinforcements?

Like in the United States, President Bolsonaro of Brazil's incendiary language discredits and all but sanctions persecution of select minority groups. In his address to the UN Assembly last month, Bolsonaro implicated "Brazilians of indigenous ancestry" for the Amazon's raging fires and deforestation. The previous year, he singled out Chief Raoni, memorably maligning him from the UN floor.