AMERICA/BRAZIL - "Let's take care of our Common Home!" theme of the first meeting of Indigenous Ecology

Saturday, 2 April 2022 indigenous   local churches   environment  

celam

Belem de Solimões (Agenzia Fides) - The first Indigenous Ecology Meeting was held from March 27 to 30, 2022, organized by the Association of Artistic and Cultural Development of the Indigenous Village of Belém do Solimões (ADACAIBS) and by the Association of Indigenous Women (MAPANA), with the participation of more than 300 indigenous people from more than 30 communities of the Eware I and Eware II Indigenous Lands, including tribal leaders and leaders, with a large participation of young people and women, from the Ticuna, Kokama and Kambeba peoples. As the note released by CELAM (Latin American Episcopal Council) informs, the motto of the meeting was "Let's take care of our Common Home!" and had as its objective to seek together possible solutions, new commitments and projects for the urgent, growing and common problems of the participating communities.
Five main issues were discussed in the meetings, as the final document highlights: decrease and lack of fish, decrease and lack of wood, increase in garbage, lack of basic sanitation and increase in water pollution, alcoholism, drugs and violence. The meeting made it possible to share experiences and projects that help to understand that it is possible to change reality, even in indigenous communities. Finally, the participants unanimously approved a series of initiatives: workshops on each of the topics will be held between May and June for indigenous teachers and students; commit oneself to the preparation of the 9th Eware Indigenous Culture Festival, from July 4 to 9, 2022, with the theme of Ecology; continue the 1st Meeting of Indigenous Ecology, with the participation also of the communities that were not present. In the medium and long term, the participants decided among other things to develop some projects: a cultural center for training, a center for the sorting of recyclable materials for marketing, and the opening of an indigenous police station in Belém de Solimões. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 2/4/2022)


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