Indigenous Peoples of South America
Over 20 million Indigenous persons in South America, belonging to some 700 distinct Peoples. Approximately 200 of these Peoples, some 10,000 individuals, are living in voluntary isolation. Indigenous Peoples’ territories span the entirety of the continent – from the Amazon to the Andes, the Chaco to the Cerrado, the Pantanal to the Pampas – and cover a variety of biomes, including: tropical rainforests, deserts, grasslands and mountains.
The territories, lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples of South America are threatened by industrial agriculture, mining, oil extraction, logging, and the construction of large infrastructure projects such as highways and mega-dams Indigenous Peoples’. Communities are violently evicted from their territories by government forces, legal and illegal resource extraction activities, narcotraffickers and armed groups. Killings of Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders are increasing dramatically, and Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation are at risk of genocide.
Land is Life works with Indigenous Peoples’ communities throughout South America; strengthening governance and territorial management systems, supporting rights defenders, protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact.
From the 8th to the 12th of March, Land is Life held a training session for Indigenous women as part of its ongoing Indigenous Women’s Program. The event, organized in
‘Voluntary trust’ legislation discussed in Senate. While the Ayoreo Indigenous People have title to half their traditional territory, draft legislation introduced by a group of government senators would establish a
En febrero de 2016, la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) emitió medidas cautelares que exigían al gobierno de Paraguay poner fin a la deforestación del territorio ancestral de los
