By Carmem Cazaubon (CS Intern)
In a time where the consequences of climate change are being felt on a global scale, the transition to “green” energy is an urgent necessity. With today’s technology, transition minerals such as lithium and cobalt have become the natural resources necessary to support the transformation towards a sustainable future. However, with the growth and acceleration of this transition, we are witnessing an increase in the violation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights along with the destruction of their traditional territories. Operating from a colonialist (and frequently illegal) perspective, mining companies are installed in Indigenous territories without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of these communities, denying their fundamental right to self-determination.
This month’s Fellowship spotlight is dedicated to our Indigenous Youth Fellows who, through Cultural Survival’s Youth Fellowship Program, have raised awareness around Indigenous Rights and FPIC in their local communities. The following projects promoted collaborative networks, information dissemination, and political activism, building stronger communities and contributing to the vision of a just, inclusive, and truly sustainable transition.
Name Withheld (Suyu Suras Nation) from Bolivia
The Jacha Marka Tapacari Codor Apacheta Indigenous Territory is located in the Poopo Province, department of Oruro, Bolivia. The territory is occupied by over 96 communities represented by 14 Indigenous leaders and a farmers association called Asociacion Productiva Integral Peñas. The local languages are Quechua, Aymara, and Castellano, and the community produces mostly tubers, cereal grains, and alfalfa for cattle, having around 53 waterholes available for crop irrigation. In 2018, a mining company was illegally installed to explore local cobalt and tin reserves without the approval of the Indigenous communities. The exploration resulted in land contamination, drought, and disappearance of key water sources. Aiming to stop this exploitation and rights violation, a young leader whose name is being withheld for safety reasons decided to step up. He became an elected representative of his territory and developed a project called “Kallpachikuna,” which means, “we become stronger.”
Protests and other legal actions were organized against the mining company to fight for the communities’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent, which has been ensured by law in Bolivia since 2009. With the support of Cultural Survival, the fellow also organized a series of meetings and workshops around the communities of Jacha Marka related to language and culture, environmental protection, and FPIC and Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The activities aimed to respect the interculturalism in the community by adapting to local language variations and supporting women's participation and leadership. In 2024, after many months of waiting, a legal decision was made in favor of the community. One of the main results of the project was the awareness raised around collective Indigenous rights and FPIC, which allows local communities to be much more prepared to face and to resist future extractivist projects.
Workshop on FPIC and Indigenous rights. The book in the foreground is the Bolivian Constitution.
Inspection by the Ministry of Environment and Water to confirm contamination and determine its levels.
Uakyrê Pankararu Braz (Pataxó and Pankararu) from Brazil
The Jequitinhona Valley, located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is home to a number of Indigenous Peoples. The Cinta Vermelha Jundiba Indigenous community consists of the Pankaruru and Pataxó Peoples, who, due to persecution and massacres, have been forced to migrate from their original lands. The region contains small, rural towns and many quilombola communities (traditional territories founded by Afro-descendants fleeing from slavery). Recently, the Jequitinhonha Valley has been overtaken by new residents: foreign lithium mining companies.
This newest arrival has gone far from unnoticed, dramatically impacting the Valley and its inhabitants. Locals have a litany of complaints about the mining operations, including constant noise and dust, explosions that have collapsed houses, environmental pollution, decreased and restricted spaces for the community to harvest natural resources, forced dispersal of livestock, rising living costs, aggravation of social tensions, and an increase in illegal activities, among others. Under the auspices of “green mining” and “wealth generation,” both of which are widely promoted by the media, multinational mining corporations are coming into the region advertising regional development. The result is a cycle of economic dependency that pressures local populations and prioritizes mining over any other economic activity.
This scenario inspired Uakyrê Pankararu Braz to develop the project, “Youth Defending the Future in the Context of the Just Transition.” She mapped out and visited communities affected by mining activities, meeting with and interviewing local young leaders to promote awareness and knowledge exchange on Indigenous rights and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The objective was to strengthen these communities by encouraging collaboration networks and political actions demanding environmental reparation and compensation. At the project’s conclusion, a video compilation of the interviews was assembled, where local youth voiced their main challenges, concerns, and potential solutions. You can access this impactful video (available only in Portuguese) here, and below you can find translated quotes taken from this short documentary.
“In 30, 50, 100 years' time, when lithium mining ends, what will be left of the region? Just holes in the ground. Another town full of abandoned houses, with no value whatsoever. Because Brazil once again becomes a colony...Most of the young people from the quilombos will never have access to an electric car; there will just be stories of how we were exploited and run over once again...Only those who are from the land, who love the land, will know how to lead the best future for our country.” (Lucas Martins, Quilombola from Jequitinhonha Valley)
“The Jequitinhonha Valley is not a poor region. It's a region rich in culture, in ways of being and living; it's a region where people have always known how to live with nature and climate, up until today.” (Raquel Souza, Quilombola from Jequitinhonha Valley)
A banner used in a protest reads: “Green mining pollutes the rivers, kills the trees, and violates human rights. We have not been consulted!”
The Wechekeche ka itrofillmongen (WKI) Organization from Chile
Wechekeche ka itrofillmongen (WKI), which can be translated as “Youth and Biodiversity,” is a nonprofit Indigenous youth organization from Chile. WKI aims to be a space of affirmation of Indigenous rights, needs, and forms of expression, increasing the visibility and union of Indigenous youth while focusing on the defense and promotion of biodiversity. In partnership with Cultural Survival, WKI developed a project centered around Mapuche youth, specifically young women. The 12 young Mapuche taking part in this initiative developed knowledge and skills that allow them to impact their territories and communities, promoting change through an Indigenous perspective.
The project began with an online workshop focused on Indigenous rights and legislation, the climate crisis, gender issues, and Indigenous cosmovisions. A second workshop was held on radio and social media, with the group producing a podcast and an online awareness campaign at the end of the project. The participants then took part in four community visits to Indigenous territories across Chile in rural and urban locations to meet with communities affected by big infrastructure projects and mining activities. In each visit, meetings and exchanges involved both local Elders and knowledge holders and local youth. The learnings and experiences gathered through this project deeply impacted the participants, contributing to their leadership development, affirmation of their identities, and political activism
Shayññ Shakiññ Rojas Romero, one of the Mapuche youth participating in the project, commented, “Young Indigenous [people] need to participate not to plan for tomorrow, but to deal with today, as they are already being affected. Wechekeche Ka Itrofillmongen expects its pu auka wanglen (members of the organization) to contribute to the systemic change we plan to make, united for a clean, green, and Indigenous future.” You can follow the work done by WKI through their website and Instagram. The podcasts produced during the project can be found at Nvtram | Podcast on Spotify.
One of the community meetings that took place during the project.
“Climate justice is protecting territory. Climate Justice is defending who defends you.”
Top photo: “We are the Jequitinhonha Valley! We are not the Lithium Valley!”
