Survival’s activism is all driven and inspired by the Indigenous peoples with whom we work. Here are just a few people we campaigned with over the years.
Dear Jack,
This is Act for Survival week, where we are asking all our supporters to take action for Indigenous peoples’ rights, by sending at least one campaign email, and by taking part in our logo challenge to spread awareness.
Survival’s activism is all driven and inspired by the Indigenous peoples with whom we work. Our campaigners spend years getting to know them, learning about their resistance and discussing how we – and you – can help.
This is the reason our movement exists, and the reason we keep fighting. Here are just a few of the people we have campaigned with and for over the years:
Damiana Cavanha, Guarani
“We say to everyone that we have decided to resist here, by the stream and the forest edge, on our re-occupied land.” Damiana Cavanha
Damiana was a dear friend of Survival and an inspirational leader to her people, the Guarani of Apy Ka’y in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. In the early 1990s, they were driven off their ancestral land at gunpoint, when it was seized by agribusiness companies for vast sugar cane plantations. Damiana never gave up: she spent years camped by the highway that ran past her land, leading many retomadas – attempts to reoccupy the land – while those who had taken their land unleashed arson attacks and gunmen on them. Damiana died in late 2023, but her people’s struggle continues.
Take Action for the Guarani
Rita Piripkura, Piripkura
“There are lots of land grabbers around. I’m worried that they might kill [my uncontacted relatives]. If they kill them, there won’t be anyone left.” Rita Piripkura
Rita was born into an uncontacted tribe, the Piripkura, in the Amazon. Her people had long been on the run from loggers and land grabbers, and Rita’s family suffered a genocidal massacre from which she escaped. She eventually married into the contacted Karipuna tribe, where Survival campaigners have visited and got to know her. Now, neighboring tribes like the Kawahiva are at risk of the same fate.
Take action for the Kawahiva
Eyaya Nivrel, Baka
“The forest is ours, but now it’s under the control of others. Now, there is only torture in the forest.” Eyaya Nivrel
Eyaya’s people, the Baka, are hunter-gatherers whose forest in the Congo basin has been taken over by Odzala-Kokoua National Park and other conservation projects. During a recent visit by Survival researchers, Eyaya explained how when he or other Baka try to enter their forest, they are threatened, beaten and even tortured by park guards. Baka people around other national parks have told us how Survival’s campaigns have helped reduce the violence against them.
Take action for the Baka
All over the world, people like Damiana, Rita and Eyaya are being attacked and driven out of their land by guns and bulldozers, by official decrees and by illegal invasions. But, whatever they face, they always resist. And Survival is there to hear their stories, to repeat them to the world, and to campaign alongside them.
It is truly amazing that many thousands of you – thousands of miles from Rita or Eyaya’s forests, or from Damiana’s grasslands – are willing to take action to help them live in peace on their land. This is the strength of Survival’s movement – and the reason our campaigning works.
Thank you to all of you who have already taken action this week. If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to spread awareness of Act for Survival week, by taking part in our logo challenge.
Simonas Bartulis
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