“We Have Authority when We Talk about Climate Change”
Young communicator, activist and biology student, Samela Satirê Mawê knows what she’s talking about. And she speaks out. “When we talk about climate change, we know what we’re talking about, we have authority, a place of speech. And this is important and must be heard!” With this sentence she opened her talk on climate change at the second edition of Ciclos Amazônia 4.0.
“It’s not just an environmental issue, it’s a social issue too. We do not have a relationship of superiority with the territory. When there is an intention to intervene in this territory, to extract resources or build hydroelectric plants, the authorities must consult our people. We need to be at the center of the debates,” she warns.
Sâmela Satirê Mawe is one of the young indigenous leaders invited to Ciclos Amazônia 4.0 - Year II
With the exponential increase in violence against indigenous peoples since 2018 – and Sâmela cited significant examples on the lands of various peoples – indigenous people have been paying with their lives to defend the biome. “What we are saying is a cry of resistance that we want to be heard and put into practice. We’ve had people speaking for us for a long time. We have ownership of what we say, so respect us,” he concludes.
