58 h. ago ‘This is my mission, my destiny’: a treacherous Amazon journey in the footsteps of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

Three years after the deaths of the British journalist and Brazilian activist, the Guardian joined the Indigenous peoples continuing their dangerous and often gruelling work to protect the rainforestPhotographs by João LaetTataco grimaces and braces for impact as his canoe hurtles towards the banks of Brazil’s Jordan River into a blizzard of branches, vines and leaves. In the bow of the boat, his Indigenous comrade, Damë Matis, shields his face with his arms as he is swallowed by the vegetation, twigs gouging his muscular shoulders.“Get down! Get down!” Tataco yells, battling to control the vessel before its occupants are skewered by the lance-like boughs jutting out from the shore. Continue reading...

Events

58 h. ago ‘This is my mission, my destiny’: a treacherous Amazon journey tracing the steps of our murdered colleagues

Three years after the deaths of the British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian activist Bruno Pereira, the Guardian joined the Indigenous peoples continuing their dangerous and often gruelling work to protect the rainforestPhotographs by João LaetTataco grimaces and braces for impact as his canoe hurtles towards the banks of Brazil’s Jordan River into a blizzard of branches, vines and leaves. In the bow of the boat, his Indigenous comrade, Damë Matis, shields his face with his arms as he is swallowed by the vegetation, twigs gouging his muscular shoulders.“Get down! Get down!” Tataco yells, battling to control the vessel before its occupants are skewered by the lance-like boughs jutting out from the shore. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Cuts to USAID severed longstanding American support for Indigenous people around the world

The effort to protect the Peruvian Amazon from deforestation related to the cocaine trade was long supported by financial assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development

Politics

8 d. ago King Charles’s visit brings frustration for First Nations amid ‘backslide in reconciliation’

Spectacle of royal visit evoked a model of national identity at odds with efforts to confront Canada’s own violent history of colonizationKing Charles’s speech to Canada’s parliament this week was framed as a subtle rebuke to Donald Trump’s threats of annexation and an assertion of the country’s sovereignty.But for many Indigenous people, the elaborate spectacle of the royal visit – with its protocol, regalia, thrones and mounties in pith helmets – evoked a model of national identity at odds with ongoing efforts to confront Canada’s own violent history of colonization and dispossession. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Namibia holds its first genocide remembrance day to mark mass killings by colonial ruler Germany

Namibia has marked the mass killings of Indigenous people by former colonial ruler Germany in the early 20th century with its first genocide remembrance day

Events

1 week ago Casualties in Trump’s war on the arts: the small museums keeping local history alive

Institutions in Los Angeles and beyond have seen millions in grants wiped away almost overnight. What happens when they can’t tell their stories?For the past two years, a small arts non-profit has been telling stories about the communities living alongside the Los Angeles river, one voice at a time.The organization, called Clockshop, has collected the oral histories of nearly 70 local residents, activists and elected officials. Their knowledge is compiled in a vast cultural atlas – which contains videos, an interactive map and a self-guided tour exploring the waterway and its transformation from a home for the Indigenous Tongva people to a popular, rapidly gentrifying urban space. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago A deadly mission: how Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira tried to warn the world about the Amazon’s destruction

The Guardian journalist and the Brazilian activist were killed while investigating the destruction of the Amazon. In this extract from the book Phillips was writing at the time of his death, he reflects on his encounters with the rainforest and its people – and why it is so vital to save this precious placePhillips and Pereira disappeared on a research expedition into the the far western Amazon. Pereira had received death threats due to his work helping Indigenous people protect the rainforest from illegal fishing and hunting. When the pair did not return, a search was launched. After 10 days, their bodies were found. Two men will go on trial for their murder next month.‘SNAKE!” The cry came from near the end of the line of 11 men, strung out along a narrow trail being hacked out of thick Amazon rainforest. I shivered. I had walked right past the danger lurking unseen in the dense undergrowth. Poisonous snakes are one of the most lethal threats in this part of the world. I...

Events