We lost a relative to the river a few days ago, taken by a boa and led to the river by the need to provide for his family by washing gold. He was only 24. 

 

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I’ve been thinking a lot about all of the events that led to his disappearance, asking so many “whys”. I didn’t know him personally, but I might have - we grew up right across from each other just separated by this river. A cousin I never got to meet. Could it have been anyone? The next morning, one of my closest cousins (pictured below) swam across the river to go get the canoe for his mother, who also washes gold to get by. “Waytasha chimbakani, sambayashaga ñalla wañukani”. He told me he almost didn’t make it across. Yes it can be anyone at any time. The unfortunate truth of death. The unfortunate truth of loss.

 

Many of my relatives put their lives at risk to survive, spending an entire day washing for gold and at times finding none or just enough for a few dollars. Some spend nights working on the islas knowing well that this river could flood overnight. It’s not enough for us to be “anti-mining”. We need to be PRO Indigenous rights and fight for a future where people can thrive, a future where my relatives stop putting their lives at risk just to get by. A future where we demand that gold stops taking lives. As conservationists, scientists, and climate activists, we can’t just fight for the environment all on its own. One of the main reasons Indigenous people in my region struggle today is because those in power took our lands to begin with and didn’t recognize us as people connected to this land. They only saw the Amazon as a resource to be extracted. They didn’t see us. They still don’t see us. 

 

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I hope you start to see us now. Environmental justice, climate justice, and racial justice are all one. I hope people recognize that soon and act on it. Lives have already been lost.