YURIMAGUAS, Peru – The Sacred Headwaters Alliance brings together thirty Indigenous nations of the upper Amazon in Ecuador and Peru, who are self-organizing to defend a forest devastated by unchecked extraction that is rapidly consuming their territory. Their leaders are on high alert due to the devastating effects of climate change on nature, which they perceive as a living being with a spiritual entity.
The Sacred Headwaters Alliance is focusing on climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as on teaching younger generations to resist the ongoing destruction of the Amazon. This initiative is crucial as the Amazon Basin has been severely impacted by record wildfires, with more than 22.4 million hectares (55.3 million acres) scorched between January and September 2024 in Brazil alone. Extreme heat and drought conditions have also exacerbated the crisis, affecting evaporation processes and pushing almost all major rivers in the Amazon — vital for Indigenous communities’ livelihoods — to their lowest-ever levels.
How do they face this existential crisis? What worldview do they propose to save the forest and the planet? Are we still in time to avoid a point of no return? These are the critical questions the Sacred Headwaters Alliance is grappling with as they work to protect both their cultural heritage and the environment.
This documentary was produced thanks to the support of the Pulitzer Center and OpenDemocracy.
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Banner image: Wrays Perez Ramirez, indigenous leader. Image © Pablo Albarenga.
Transcript
Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
With three plants we learn.
We know.
With Tobacco (Tsaan)
Ayahuasca (Natem)
and Floriponio which is (Maikiua)
When I took this,
a very bright
light came to me
from heaven,
piercing the center of my body.
And it pointed towards a huge tree
and told me,
“Look at that tree, look at its state.”
Parts of it were hollow.
“This is the state of your planet.”
I couldn’t see it, and he said:
“The atmosphere, the earth and below the ground, it is all connected,
it gives you life.”
“And so, how is your planet?
That tree is just like your planet.
like your planet.”
You have to raise awareness.
I am fulfilling my mission.
Wrays is a wise man
who learned from his mother, just like me.
He is a guiding light,
for young people, for our organization.
We came together because, for us,
the rainforest is unique.
It’s a science laboratory of our ancestors.
A large hummingbird
that makes the earth move
with the flap of its wings.
May they be well,
and also enjoy the rainforest.
Yes, what has happened is that the river is too low.
I could not go out in my boat.
Because it is very, very, very low. I went alone.
And I came back.
And now I am here, we’ve had breakfast.
Then we start work. At three o’clock
I’m going to a meeting. The community has invited us
to a meeting and we will be there.
Well, that’s why I say that you should join in with these initiatives.
All planned.
A big hug to your family and the whole community.
Thank you.
So you’ll be there, and greetings to all, OK?
Thank you, Segma.
A hug too.
Yes.
Yes, sure.
Bye, Segma, bye.
See you soon.
Here I would like to call on all teachers
to work with our children
because
our Mother Nature is starting to become polluted
with garbage,
with this solid waste
that when you arrive,
even before you see anyone, you see the garbage first,
plastics, bottles, bags.
There is a water project
that is going to last us 10 years, perhaps.
This water
where we grew up bathing
where our grandparents bathed
up on the hill.
We are disrespecting it.
We are throwing garbage into it,
cans,
everything we want to throw away.
I am calling on you as part of the Cuencas Sagradas Alliance.
How do we take care of this?
I want to tell you about
how we have been working with Domingo
Segma Domingo Achuar,
working together
for this great alliance,
something we have been doing for over 7 years,
we started in 2017 in Tarapoto.
Achuar had a great vision,
a great vision brought to him by Arutam.
The same Arutam we also know.
Cuencas Sagradas was set up
to be a great alliance
to take lasting care
before we reach the point of no return,
so we can keep the Amazon intact.
This alliance,
we are ourselves
Indigenous peoples that make up this alliance.
And we have come together,
not for the purpose of independence,
but the purpose of
making a territorial government,
controlling our territory,
managing our resources.
Not to divide us,
but to look after our lands.
How many points did you score?
I have 3 points per card.
Oh, yeah
So, your punishment is…
is…
dancing…
I brought nettle.
Easier.
But, that is a punishment, look:
dancing,
singing…
or… reciting a poem.
He begins.
She… don’t be nervous.
Put on…
Be…
Happy…
OK.
From here, the person who starts takes it from here.
Four.
Five! You know nothing.
You have…
Eleven, eleven, eleven, eleven, eleven, eleven, eleven, eleven…
Eleven points.
I won.
And now I’ve lost.
What a dance! What a dance! What a dance!
Pedro.
How are you, brother?
I am fine.
First of all, Mr. Chairman,
thank you for your time,
for your space, for welcoming us.
President of the community,
my name is Uyunkar Domingo Peas.
I am an Indigenous Achuar from the Ecuadorian Amazon.
At this moment I am here,
because we know the lake is experiencing problems
So…
we are here to visit,
but most of all
to also give your message to the world.
The water is no longer as deep.
It has begun…
turning to sediment.
It is now land.
Where the elders once fished paiche and other fish,
it is already solid land.
It is no longer possible to fish there.
And that is a severe threat.
I am extremely concerned,
and my association and I are dedicated to
repopulating the river with taricayas.
We have released approximately 300,000 taricaya hatchlings
into the lakes.
We are doing this to ensure…
the species
does not die out.
We are working very, very hard,
it is a very exhausting job.