Dear Jack,

My name is Lucas Manchineri. I'm writing to you, Survival supporters, to deliver a simple but important message: uncontacted peoples around the world are at risk—and we all need to support their struggle. It's where the forest breathes in silence that the planet still finds hope.

In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, between rivers of dark waters and the constant whisper of leaves, there is a territory where time is not measured by clocks, but by the rhythm of rain, wind. There, you can hear the silent footsteps of people who choose to live on the margins of the outside world.

For many years, I have been working to defend the territory and rights of our relatives, known as the Mashco Piro, who live on the border of Brazil and Peru. Our goal is to defend them and ensure they have no contact with outsiders.

My people – the Manxineru – are devoted to this work because we were also once uncontacted. But once invaders entered our territory, we were massacred. We were killed by rubber tappers and others.

We don’t want that to happen to the Mashco Piro. But the story is repeating itself. Illegal loggers, miners and fishermen are entering their territories, bringing in diseases and threatening to destroy their society. The Mashco Piro could get infected with the flu which they have no immunity to.

The lands of uncontacted peoples like the Mashco Piro are increasingly at risk due to the destruction of their forests and rivers too, which drives Indigenous peoples out of their ancestral territories.

Please, Jack, hear my message from the heart of the Amazon, and support the struggle of uncontacted Indigenous people by acting now. Help protect the lives of Indigenous peoples who will care for the forest as stewards of their land. It’s important to respect their territories, respect the original Indigenous people and their right to self-determination. And also understand that they are human beings who need to survive, practice their culture, and live in peace.

Thank you,

Lucas Manchineri