Native Peoples Elias Osio, Tri Nguyen, Alex Lemaire

Our Position We are against rainforest destruction

Reason #1: Entitlement  “Many of you people of the outer world have become so infatuated with yourselves that you have failed to take into consideration anybody but yourselves. The Amazon is not only our living place, it is our birthright. Just like you people have your holy land, we have ours. And it is this land here. You have condescendingly forgotten about more than 50 uncontacted tribes. This forest not only shelters us, but it provides us our daily exultation.  Not only do you people have to take action now to help us, you must take action now to help yourselves. At least 60-80% of all logging in the Amazon is ILLEGAL. But that doesn’t seem to stop you people from further harming our sacred land. Statistics have reported that at the rate of deforestation we are currently going at, by the year of 2030 of your peoples time, our holy land will be destroyed beyond repair. That means less holy air that you call oxygen that provides your lungs with the wind it needs. The fabric of this world will continue to tear if we keep at it. So please, for our sake and the sake of the world, please, please stop destroying the forest.”  -Chief Jaguar

Reason # 2 Abuse   Many tribes have been driven off and even killed by settlers wanting their land for ranching, farming, timber and oil. Some natives were forced to work in sugar plantations or mines. Between 1900 and 1967, an around 98 tribes were wiped out, simply because of the greed of settlers.   Around the year 1967 agency officials and land speculators of the Indian Protection Service slaughtered our people by purposely giving them disease-laced clothing.   Also in 1967, construction began on a transcontinental highway which cleared thousands of miles of forests. Our reservations suffered massive deforestation and flooding. Migrants from the project brought new diseases like small-pox, measles and even the common cold, which devastated our population.   Theft, forced labor, mass murder, and mistreatment are no way to handle the situation.

Reason #3: It is our home  The rainforest is the most species rich biome. It has 2.5 million insect species, 40,000 plants and 2,000 birds and mammals. The natives depend on these animals for food, clothing and other purposes. With the destruction of the rainforest we have lost many species that may never see the Earth again, we must preserve our environment and the life on it.

Cândido Rondon Cândido Rondon helped establish the National Foundation for Indians, which was the first federal agency charged with protecting Indians and preserving their culture