By Belen Iñiguez (CS Staff)
To speak of food sovereignty from and for Indigenous Peoples is to speak of a food production that is respectful toward animals, seeds, the earth, life, and spirituality. Food sovereignty also implies conserving food, applying ancestral knowledge that enables food to be kept in good condition for a more extended period, without relying on industrial processes. That preservation of food is a fundamental part of the right to decide how to feed oneself.
By Elvia Rodríguez (Ñuu Savi, CS Staff)
Have you ever wondered what life is like in a place affected by mining exploitation? I have, many times: every time I read an article, every time I heard a testimony, every time I watched a video on social media, and I thought I understood what it meant. However, no book, no article, no video can convey what it is like to live day after day in a territory that is being sacrificed.
By Brandi Morin (Cree/Iroquois)
Photos by Julien Defourny
The water that once ran clear enough to drink now flows a sickly brownish-green, carrying the acrid smell of death down what used to be a living river. Where children once played and fish swam freely, garbage now lines the banks and toxic mining waste piles high on either side. The playground sits abandoned and overgrown, a rusted monument to a community that mining has all but erased.
By Brandi Morin (Cree/Iroquois)
Photos by Julien Defourny
The Seque Jahuira community, part of the Aymara Nation in Bolivia and located in the municipality of Viacha, began a determined struggle in 2024 against 23 mining plants installed on their territory. These plants are responsible for leaching mining waste brought in from other regions of the country. Mining activities have caused ecological devastation throughout the region near the Seque Jahuira community, contaminating water and soil, causing the death of animals, affecting agricultural production, and forcibly displacing community members.
By Wayna Tambo – Red de la Diversidad
Wayna Tambo – Diversity Network is located in the city of El Alto, department of La Paz. It is a mid-sized city inhabited mostly by migrant populations who maintain a strong connection with the countryside. A large part of the population identifies as Aymara People.
By Edison Andrango (Kichwa, CS Staff)
By Pablo Xol (Maya Qʼeqchiʼ, CS Staff)
In April 2025, Cultural Survival accompanied two Indigenous authorities from Bolivia, Pastor Carvajal (Aymara) from the Seque Jahuira Viacha Community in the Department of La Paz and Guadalupe Fernández (Quechua) from the Ayllu Acre Antequera, province of Poopó Department of Oruro, to the 24th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
By Diana Pastor (Maya K'iche', CS Staff) and Belén Iñiguez (CS Staff)
Cultural Survival expresses our deep concern and indignation in the face of the continuous criminalization and rights violations against Indigenous defenders in Bolivia. In October 2024, the Quechua community of Totoral Chico rejected a farce consultation by mining company La Salvada Sociedad Colectiva, which was already operating in their territory. Now, the leaders are being threatened and criminalized. All eyes on Bolivia!
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
