Indigenous People Form Human Banners, Plea For Help Saving the Amazon

Over 1,000 indigenous rights activists formed human banners across a stretch of deforested Amazon rain forest this week at the World Social Forum in Brazil.

“We are the guardians of the forest,” said Marco Apurina, vice-coordinator of Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira. “This is a critical moment for indigenous peoples to unite with non-indigenous, activists, teachers, environmentalists, unions, government. The Amazon rainforest needs everyone to work together now to defend it before it’s too late.”

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“The symbol of the bow and arrow has three meanings,” COIAB explained. “The first, our aim that every man, woman, and child will decide to care for our planet; the second, the position of defending the rights of indigenous peoples, of nature, of the planet, and of our home the Amazon; the third, to send a message to the world so that each of us helps to protect our home, our air, our water, our food.”

According to Amazon Watch, a non-profit group representing the interests of indigenous tribes in the Amazon, if development in the area continues, the ecosystem will suffer a complete collapse within 10 or 20 years.

Photos Courtesy of Amazon Watch

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