Indigenous peoples of the Americas

People gather during the Kanua film festival in Ecuador.

Film festival makes its way through Ecuador’s Amazon by boat

Arts, Culture & Media

For the past few weeks, a floating film festival has been plying the waters of Ecuador’s Amazon region. The films are transported aboard a solar-powered boat. It stops in Indigenous communities along the rivers, sets up a projector, and shows films by and about Indigenous people around the globe.

people lined up

Colombian searchers reveal new details on the rescue of four children who survived plane crash in the Amazon 

The sword of the Royal House of Avis on a stylized cross decorates the 56-meter high Monument to the Discoveries by the Tagus river in Lisbon, Thursday, March 30, 2023. 

Vatican rejects Doctrine of Discovery after years of pressure from Indigenous activists

Justice
Indigenous activists run through the streets of Lima during a recent protest against Dina Boluarte's goverment. 

‘Our people have always struggled:’ Peru’s Indigenous groups aim for more power in Congress

Protest
Demonstrators ride trucks as they arrive to the capital to protest against the government of President Guillermo Lasso, in Quito, Ecuador, Monday, June 20, 2022. 

‘We are here with one idea, one heart’: Ecuador’s Indigenous groups rally for rights in mass protests

Protest
banner with people in front of it

Brazilians mourn deaths of journalist and anthropologist whose remains were recovered in the Amazon 

Justice

​​​​​​​The remains of two men missing in the western Amazon were found on Wednesday night. And two fishermen have been arrested in connection to the case. Indigenous and environmental leaders are mourning the deaths and asking questions about the government’s role in protecting the Amazon.

"Water is for the people" reads a sign in defense of Indigenous land and water rights at a large gathering in Ahuacatlán, Puebla state, Mexico.

Indigenous communities score victories against two mining projects in Mexico

Justice

In recent months, top federal courts in Mexico have canceled controversial mining concessions near Indigenous communities in two regions of Puebla state. About 100 Indigenous activists are now on a monthlong caravan to defend land and water rights across southern Mexico.

The Canadian flag is illuminated in the Embassy of Canada in Washington in Washington, Thursday, June 20, 2019. 

‘Canada Day is a reckoning’: Many cancel celebrations as nation mourns Indigenous unmarked graves

Human rights

Canadians are being urged to use the day to reflect on the nation’s history of oppression and honor Indigenous communities. 

An Indigenous protester aims his bow an arrow at police outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

‘We will not leave Brasilia defeated’: Brazilian Indigenous groups mobilize to defend land rights 

Conflict & Justice

Nearly 1,000 members of tribes across Brazil are camped in the country’s capital to defend land rights currently under legislative review in Congress and the Supreme Court.

Kayapó indigenous people block Brazil's BR-163 national highway, as they protest against the government measures in the Indigenous lands to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, in Novo Progresso, Pará state, Brazil, August 18, 2020.

Brazil’s Indigenous peoples fight COVID-19 in their territories amid government neglect

Human rights

The coronavirus has infected 30,000 Brazilian Indigenous people, and almost 800 have died. They are taking action to protect themselves, blaming officials for inaction.