The Ayoreo: the last isolated people outside the Amazon

Written on 13 July 2021.

BY MIGUEL LOVERA , JIEUN KANG, MIGUEL ÁNGEL ALARCÓN, NORMA FLORES ALLENDE AND LEONARDO TAMBURINI

Close to 150 members of the Ayoreo people in voluntary isolation survive in the Chaco region in the border between Bolivia and Paraguay. Among the signs that evidence their presence are the wholes and marks on trees; tools and huts found; footprints near bodies of water; and abandoned objects. Today, they are threatened by deforestation, the construction of roads, megafires, and the advance of the farm and cattle ranching frontier. Both countries should take measures to guarantee the protection of these peoples’ territories as well as their survival.

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Indigenous communicator training: strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination

Written on 30 June 2021.

During 2020, IWGIA provided the necessary support to consolidate the operation of Radio Wampis in Peru and the first cycle of students at the journalism school in Charagua, Bolivia.

The training of Indigenous communicators, particularly youth, was part of the strategy to consolidate the Indigenous autonomies of the Wampis people and of the Guaraní in the Chaco region of Bolivia. In both cases, Indigenous youth have been trained in different media.

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Venezuela: isolated indigenous people, illegal groups, and Covid-19

Written on 08 July 2021.

BY LUIS JESÚS BELLO

The Jödi, the Yanomami and the Uwottüja living in voluntary isolation are threatened by the invasions that result from extractive activities and by the presence of illegal groups in the area: to the environmental impact we should add the sociocultural and sanitary ramifications. The isolated groups are aware that foreign agents are potential disease carriers, which represents a motivation to remain isolated. The Covid-19 pandemic worsens this situation due to the high epidemiological and immunological vulnerability.

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Indigenous communities in Kenya self-organise to claim land rights

Written on 30 June 2021.

In 2020, Indigenous communities in Samburu County, northern Kenya, paved the way for implementing the Community Land Act of 2016. This is a way of securing their collective community land rights while at the same time strengthening the role of women in land governance.

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