Pachamama Organizes "Avatar" Viewing for Amazonian Indigenous Leaders
Last month, about fifty indigenous leaders met in Quito to watch the film "Avatar" in 3D. The parallel of this film to the real life experiences of the indigenous in the Amazon is clear. Conflict in the Amazon over resource exploitation and territorial rights shed a very similar story to that of the indigenous Na’vi of Pandora; one filled frequently by frustration and power struggles. Mayra Vega, head of the Shuar Nation’s Women’s Association, commented after watching the film that it hit home for her and her people. Like in "Avatar", the Shuar are fighting to protect their land from mining companies. “It left a huge impression on us. We have to defend just as the indigenous so clearly defended in the movie. We have to defend just as the indigenous so clearly defended in the movie. We had an uprising; we had a confrontation with (tear) gases: It’s the same as what we just saw in the movie.” Some of the indigenous leaders described how they had never even seen a movie before, let alone visited a theatre. Consequentially, those who watched "Avatar" left with many comments and thoughts about the future.
One interesting idea was that of Achuar leader Ernesto Vargas who suggested that another group of people get to see the film: “Think of how much better it would be if we showed this film to people who actually want to exploit petroleum. I think it would serve them very well, even more than us.”
The film was criticized by some indigenous viewers in that it promoted violence as the only form of winning the struggle against exploitation; in the Ecuadorian Amazon this is not always the case. The Kichwa Community of Sarayaku took CGC, an Argentine energy company that began exploratory actions for oil in its territory in 2002, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Marlon Santi, President of the National Indigenous Confederation of Ecuador (CONAIE) and a Sarayaku native, sees the Sarayaku case as a real life Avatar story, where the indigenous triumphed over the oil company, but unlike in the film, they didn’t use violence. Sarayaku is one of the emblematic cases in the struggle for territorial and environmental defense, and for human rights.
Another case involves the Waorani. Beneath their territory in the Yasuní National Park lie 846 million barrels of oil. Yasuní is a biodiversity hotspot that is often referred to as a great lung for the planet. It is also one of the few places left on Earth where uncontacted indigenous groups live in voluntary isolation. Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa offered to forego drilling in certain oil blocks in this pristine environment on the condition that the international community would pay Ecuador more than three and a half billion dollars, about half the value of the Yasuní oil reserves. But in early January, Correa questioned the feasibility of the deal, causing uproar at home. The future of this innovative proposal is still unknown, but many hope that it will succeed in protecting both the underground and above ground ecological and cultural diversity found in the Yasuní. The importance of maintaining the park is symbolic for environmental protection throughout Ecuador, valuing conservation over exploitation, as well as setting a precedent within the nation and throughout the region.
See a video presented to BBC’s The World on YouTube here: Coming soon…
Coming soon… a global campaign to energize a worldwide movement of imagination, enthusiasm and action to shift humanity onto a sustainable, just and fulfilling path by February 14, 2014. Four Years. Go.
Four Years. Go., which will roll out within the next two weeks, is a collaborative project of The Pachamama Alliance, Wieden + Kennedy (the world’s largest independent advertising agency), P:5Y—Peace in Five Years, and the 2020 Fund. More than 300 allied organizations have already come on board as supporters of this global campaign, and that number grows daily.
Why four years? Because what we do in the next four years can determine the quality of life for the next thousand years. There is still time to act, but no time to waste.
The success of Four Years. Go. depends on you spreading the word to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors — everyone.
Pachamama Journeys Program Expands Global Reach
For the past 14 years, the Pachamama Alliance has taken more than 1000 committed people on the transformational journey of a lifetime to the heart of the Achuar territory in the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador. While for many years participants were mainly from the U.S., they are now coming from around the world, with groups forming from French-speaking Europe and Japan, and a growing number of partnerships being established with diverse companies and organizations. There is an increasing awareness and recognition that pristine nature and indigenous wisdom has something profound to offer our western worldview that may unlock the door to a sustainable and fulfilling future.
The growing body of Awakening the Dreamer Symposium Facilitators worldwide is recognizing the unique opportunity to visit the source and origin of both the Symposium and the Pachamama Alliance – the pristine rainforest of Ecuador and ancestral territory of the Achuar people. Last year, over 50 Facilitators participated in this one of kind experience, many of them with fellow Facilitators who share the same passion and commitment to this work and vision. More than 8 countries were represented – from New Zealand to Argentina to the UK and Australia - to list a few.
Just last month, the first French-speaking journey to Ecuador was completed with inspiring results. Conceived and facilitated by Belgium natives, Claude and Noelle Poncelet, who now live in the San Francisco Bay Area, they drew on their vast French-speaking European network and primarily the Franco-Europe Symposium Facilitator group, Les Pachamamis. The connections that deepened and commitments that grew out their experience together were profound.
Next month will see a full group of Japanese participants, in large part Facilitators, embark on a journey to the rainforest. The visionary Hide Enomoto pioneered this effort after bringing the Symposium to Japan, translating all the materials, and hosting two successful facilitator trainings.
Aligned partner organizations and companies are also seeing the deep value in integrating their clients and discourse on a Pachamama Journey to Ecuador. With such a fertile and rich learning environment, the experience creates the ideal space for breakthrough thinking and transformation to occur.
In April, two of these collaborations are happening. Ascent Institute will offer a Leadership Journey for participants to envision and design their life around that which enlivens them and engages their heart’s calling. Also, Business Trex, will offer an innovative program for business leaders, exploring natural paradigms for business and helping participants examine, integrate and apply what they’ve learned to achieve lasting and positive change in both business and life.
In August, a rainforest healing and restoration immersion will take place with renowned author and spiritual teacher, Andrew Harvey , and acclaimed yoga teacher, Karuna Erickson, where the fusion of ancient indigenous wisdom comes together with eastern yoga and mystical tradition for an unprecedented experience of spirit, movement, healing and restoration. For more information, you may download Itinerary here...
To learn more and see all of the Pachamama Journeys offerings for 2010, please visit our website here...
Facilitator Trainings
The
Pachamama Alliance's Awakening the Dreamer Program makes available
Facilitator Trainings around the world for people who have the desire
and commitment to deliver the Symposium in their own communities and
beyond. For more information on upcoming Trainings, please click here…
Green Your Heating
Even the coziest of homes can suffer from air seepage: small drafts of cold air squeezing themselves in between cracks and crevices. But often these minuscule things slip under the radar of even the best homekeepers. Here are a few tips to help you feel warmer and turn down the heat during the cooler months.
A Farewell to Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was a man of many titles, including historian, activist, essayist, polemicist and teacher. He devoted his prestigious career to civil rights, social justice and institutional reform, and found himself as comfortable on a picket line as he was in front of a classroom. His most famous book, A People's History of the United States, takes a spirited, unconventional look at American history, as it relates to Native Americans, women, minorities, labor unions and the working poor. Professor Zinn died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He will be missed. Read more:
UN Report on Indigenous Peoples
January 2010 – The world’s 370 million indigenous peoples suffer from disproportionately, often exponentially, higher rates of poverty, health problems, crime and human rights abuses, the first ever United Nations study on the issue reported today, stressing that self-determination and land rights are vital for their survival.Learn more:
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