Two new partnerships reflect International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

On December 23, 1994, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 49/214, declaring August 9 of every year as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This day serves as a reminder to celebrate the rich culture, heritage, traditions, languages and wisdom that Indigenous people bring to the world.

It is also an opportunity to foster solidarity among Indigenous people. It is a time to raise awareness about the social, economic, and political marginalization that many Indigenous communities face, and address issues such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to education and healthcare. Additionally, it recognizes the resilience and strength of Indigenous peoples, who continue to thrive despite numerous challenges. This day calls on governments, organizations, and individuals to take action in supporting and advocating for Indigenous peoples’ rights and well-being.

Let us remember the accomplishments of our Indigenous partners in the Americas whose programs and projects have been successfully implemented because of their gifted vision, resilience and work ethic, all invested for the well-being of their communities and the protection of Mother Earth, natural resources and the environment.

PWRDF’s supports Indigenous partners in other parts of the world. Two new partnerships include Hampik Warmikuna Indigenous Ancestral Health Council (CISAHW) in Ecuador, and ASAS do Cerrado (Associação Social Anglicana de Solidariedade do Cerrado – Development Agency of the Diocese of Brasilia), who are working jointly with Indigenous communities in the Amazonian region of Brazil. The CISAHW project focuses on Indigenous maternal and child health, while the Brazilian project promotes education and awareness of Indigenous rights, and the protection and support of their traditional territory and environment.

Strengthening Indigenous midwifery in Ecuador

The CISAHW project, funded by PWRDF, will train Kichwa-speaking midwives to improve maternal and child health and minimize health inequality gaps in the rural Indigenous communities of Cotacachi (in the Highlands of Imbabura Province in Ecuador) by reinforcing community ancestral health practices. The program will offer mentoring opportunities for young midwives, who will accompany veteran midwives in community visits, prenatal and postnatal care, and culturally affirming safe birth practices. These Indigenous communities face historical inequalities that limit their access to culturally appropriate health services. Women are particularly vulnerable due to gender discrimination and violence. Furthermore, traditional home birth practices are disappearing due to an absorption into the Western health care system, which often harbors racism at its core.

The program will work with Indigenous families from the poorer and rural parishes of Quiroga, Imantag and Sagrario in Cotacachi. Ecuador’s administrative divisions are hierarchical: the country is divided into provinces, which are further subdivided into cantons (cantones), and then into parishes (parroquias), which are the smallest administrative units. The project will train 44 female Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs): 15 new TBAs in communities lacking them, 9 Indigenous midwives recently graduated (2023) to strengthen their capacities, and 20 Indigenous Knowledge Keepers – Traditional Elders midwives (human libraries) – to share their knowledge with the trainees. These participating Indigenous midwives will serve 45 communities and attend to 3,000 families.

CISAHW recognizes the importance of ancestral medicine, especially within a Western health system that can often be hostile toward rural Indigenous women. It seeks to address the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in relation to health, aiming for true cultural acceptance in healthcare. To achieve this, CISAHW works to create a community health system rooted in ancestral medicine and seeks respectful and collaborative articulation with institutional health services. CISAHW is also networking and supporting the creation of a Regional Network of Indigenous Midwives of the Americas. The founding members of the Indigenous Midwifery Program for the Americas funded by PWRDF, KINAL from Mexico and CHIRAPAQ from Peru, are hosting a virtual meeting in August 2024, to discuss the next steps for the creation of the proposed Regional Network of Indigenous midwives, with over 40 Indigenous midwives from the region registered to attend and more last-minute participants expected.

Since 2017, PWRDF’s Indigenous Midwifery Program for the Americas has fostered awareness, education, and solidarity regarding the crucial role of Indigenous midwifery in healthcare for Indigenous communities in Canada, Mexico, and Peru. This program has also contributed to the inclusion of Indigenous midwifery and Indigenous knowledge in the international agenda on Indigenous issues at the United Nations. It is encouraging to see Indigenous midwives organizing to learn about their rights and inform local and national public opinion about the value of Indigenous midwifery as an alternative to Western medical practices, leading to positive outcomes for safe birth and family well-being.

Preventing environmental racism in Amazonia

ASAS do Cerrado (Development Agency from the Diocese of Brasilia), in partnership with Indigenous communities in the Amazonian region, aims to provide resources, training and community resilience to Indigenous populations. The goal is to contribute to these communities for improving self-organization and reducing their social vulnerability. The training provided will improve leadership skills to better serve the Indigenous communities’ interests, enhance their advocacy capacities, and actively defend their rights.

The main challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in the Amazon region of Brazil include land rights, land disputes, land grabbing, encroachments on their territories, illegal mining and extractive agriculture and monoculture, deforestation, criminal fires, healthcare access, education, economic empowerment, social inequality, and environmental racism.

The concept of environmental racism, where marginalized communities bear disproportionate environmental hazards, intersects with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing issues of environmental injustice and promoting equity in access to clean environments aligns with the SDGs’ goals of reducing inequalities, promoting good health, sustainable development, responsible consumption, climate action, and biodiversity conservation.

Indigenous communities in the Amazon play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of the region through their sustainable practices and deep-rooted knowledge. Development needs to support these communities to prevent biodiversity loss and protect the unique flora and fauna while serving as inspiration for Indigenous communities nationwide.

The project participants are Indigenous communities living in Manaus and Belem (northern part of the Brazilian Amazon region) and Petrolina (northeastern part of Brazil), who are the most vulnerable groups in those regions. They will be acquiring legal and practical knowledge on Indigenous communities’ rights, creating educational materials on Indigenous rights, both written and audiovisual, which can then be shared with other communities and foster the advancement of Indigenous communities’ rights, and networking of Indigenous communities, thus strengthening their sense of belonging. The project will raise awareness of the needs and challenges faced by the Indigenous communities involved in the project, especially among the Congress representatives and Supreme Federal Court Justices.

Both projects implemented by CISAHW and ASAS do Cerrado are excellent examples of partnerships promoted by PWRDF that are based on the recognition, respect, and support for the rights of our Indigenous partners, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Our relationships and partnerships are founded on the principles of mutual trust and equal respect. These have given positive results and ensured long-lasting successful relationships.