Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon

We welcome you to our home, the vast and beautiful Amazon rainforest. We are the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon, and we want to share our story with you. We are not just one single group; we are made up of hundreds of different peoples, each with our own language and traditions. Some of our communities you may have heard of are the Yanomami and the Kayapo. For thousands of years, we have lived in this great forest. It is more than just a place to live—it is the source of everything we need, from the food that nourishes us to the materials for our homes and the plants that become our medicine.

Our history in the Amazon is very long, stretching back at least 13,000 years. Imagine living in the same place for all that time! Our ancestors learned everything there is to know about this complex world of trees, rivers, and animals. They passed this deep knowledge down through countless generations. This knowledge allowed our people to thrive, not just survive. We learned which plants could heal, which fruits were safe to eat, and how to read the signs of the changing seasons. Before outsiders arrived on our shores, millions of our people lived here. Some of us lived in small family groups, while others built large, well-organized communities that were home to many people.

Our traditional daily life is woven into the rhythms of the forest. To feed our families, our men have long been skilled hunters and fishers, understanding the ways of the animals and the rivers. Our women and children are experts at gathering fruits, nuts, and other foods that the forest provides. We also plant our own food in community gardens. Here, we grow important crops like manioc, which is a root vegetable, and corn. Our homes are built together, using materials that come directly from our surroundings. Many of us have traditionally lived in large communal houses, where several families share one big living space. These homes, made of wood, leaves, and other natural materials, are a center for our community life.

Our connection to the Amazon is also spiritual. Our beliefs teach us that we are part of nature, not separate from it. We see spirits in the plants, animals, and rivers that surround us. To help us connect with this spirit world, we have spiritual healers known as shamans. Shamans are very important members of our communities. They are wise people who, we believe, can communicate with the spirits of nature to bring healing and balance to our villages. Our traditions are a big part of who we are. We express our culture through ceremonial body paint, which has special meanings, and through intricate crafts made with skill and patience. We also keep our history and beliefs alive by telling stories, passing them down from our elders to our children so that our ways are never forgotten.

For most of our long history, we lived in our forest home without interruption. But that changed when outsiders began to arrive in our lands, starting in the 16th century. Since then, we have faced very serious challenges. Many of our ancestral territories have been taken from us. The rainforest itself is being destroyed at an alarming rate. This destruction comes from logging companies cutting down ancient trees, mining operations that pollute our rivers, and large-scale farming that clears huge areas of land. The loss of the forest is a threat to everything we know. We are not standing by and watching this happen; we are actively fighting to protect our lands, our culture, and our way of life for future generations.

After all these centuries of change and challenge, we want you to know that we are still here. Today, over a million of us, from hundreds of distinct groups, continue to live in the Amazon. Our lives are a blend of the old and the new. We use modern tools that can help us, but we also work hard to keep our ancient traditions alive. We teach our children our languages, our stories, and our deep respect for the natural world. We see ourselves as guardians of the rainforest. By working to protect our home, we are also helping to protect a place that is important for the health of the entire world. The future of the Amazon and the future of our peoples are connected, and we will continue to stand for both.