"For caring for our territory and conserving our ways of life, we are subjected to constant persecution."
– Josefina Tunki

Happy #GivingTuesday! Last week, I wrote to you about Indigenous women leading the movement to get mining out of the Amazon for good. On this global day of generosity, I invite you to make a special donation in solidarity with Indigenous women on the front lines defending land, water, and life in their ancestral territories. Your gift will be matched!

Your gift defends Earth defenders and protects the rainforest by advancing Indigenous land rights.

Josefina Tunki is a Shuar leader, and was the first female president of Pueblo Shuar Arutam (PSHA), representing some 12,000 peoples in the heart of the Cordillera del Condor in Ecuador. There, the Andes and Amazon meet in one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth. But mining threatens the Shuar’s territory and way of life.

Josefina has led PSHA’s resistance to mining, and she’s faced threats and constant persecution for her advocacy. Amazon Watch has accompanied the Shuar since 2016, documenting rights violations, supporting anti-mining legal processes, and defending threatened Earth defenders like Josefina. This year, we traveled with Josefina to the UN in Geneva to expose the devastation mining brings to Indigenous communities. She delivered powerful testimony, and her recommendations were adapted word for word!

Your donation today will be matched, going twice as far to support Indigenous leaders like Josefina and get mining out of the Amazon for good. For Indigenous women’s leadership and solutions, we say, onward!

Happy #GivingTuesday, and thank you!

Leila Salazar-López
Executive Director

P.S. This year, we collected messages of gratitude from 3,811 Amazon Watch donors thanking Josefina for her powerful leadership, which we delivered to her in Shuar territory. Here’s what your fellow supporters had to say!