This summer, as the world grappled with suffocating heat and drought, historic floods, and explosive wildfires, a timely gathering was underway in the Ecuadorian Amazon celebrating Indigenous rights, victories, and visions for forest protection that hold the key to addressing climate change.

The Kichwa people of Sarayaku, known for their historic resistance to oil extraction and extraordinary efforts to protect their rainforest territory, convened the meeting dubbed Kawsari, which roughly translates into “awakening,” an acknowledgement of the need for a new direction in the strategies to address the climate crisis, with roots in the traditional practices of Indigenous peoples that have so successfully protected the Earth’s critical ecosystems and biodiversity for millennia.

The gathering brought together Indigenous peoples from across Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru to construct a global agreement that would strengthen Indigenous strategies of protection for “territories of life” of Indigenous peoples within the framework of the rights of nature and the self-determination of Indigenous peoples.

Over the three-day event, Sarayaku laid out their vision of their Living Forest proposal, celebrated their historic legal victory against the Ecuadorian government for rights violations stemming from attempts to drill for oil, and laid out their own law that defines Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in their territory.