As Covid-19 reaches every part of the globe, indigenous organisations are preparing themselves. They are also asking for public donations to support them during this pandemic.
Find out about each organisation below. As this list grows, groups are organised by geographical region.
Global
Guardians of the Forest have a joint fund to fight Covid-19.
My name is Tuntiak Katan, from the Shwar community in Ecuador. I represent the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, a partnership of over 1800 indigenous and local communities from tropical forests around the globe, conformed by the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), and the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB).
We protect more that 400 million hectares of forests – the equivalent in size to the entire European Union. If these forests remain standing it’s in large part due to our centuries long resistance against countless attacks.
Donate here: rootsthatheal.com/guardians/
Asia
AMAN – Indonesia
Indigenous Peoples have undertaken various initiatives in response to COVID-19 including rituals, independent quarantines, lockdown of indigenous territories, ensuring food reserves, producing local medicines, and growing short-term food crops. Also, Village Chiefs in Indigenous Peoples’ communities, particularly women and young schools leaders, continue together to fight COVID-19.
Indigenous Peoples who still live in harmony with nature are now proven to have adequate food supplies. In the spirit of reciprocity, Indigenous Peoples with Food surpluses are voluntarily supporting fellow Indonesians who lack food. Localized, protected indigenous ecosystems have global importance, and can be the foundation of a more resilient Indonesian archipelago.
At the same time, Organisations’ leaders living in big cities face the direct threat of COVID-19 while continuing to lead Indigenous Peoples.
The AMAN Emergency Response Unit continues to work hard collecting data, recruiting volunteers, and strengthening its service strategies. Logistics, transportation, communication, food, shortage of PPE equipment and disinfectants are major challenges today.
Support from all parties is needed. Please Donate.
Accepting donations via Paypal: [email protected]
Retweet their fundraising tweet.
KNPA Agrarian Reform (partner of AMAN’s) – Indonesia
Emergency Fund for communities to receive money. Follow the process here:
Ran Wellum – Kalimantan – Indonesia
We discussed online the main problems we have in our community, which are lack of reliable information and unevenly spread help aids. In Kalimantan Berani, media team creates informative poster and flyers about COVID-19 in the most simple and understandable language and local languages while the field team goes out to put these posters and distribute the flyers to the people. Yes, they are putting themselves at risk by going outside. We try to tackle this by using what we have: firefighter suits, goggles, masks, and extra raincoat for protection. The field team, goes with the name “Katuyung” also provided disinfectant spray and deep cleaning to houses. Other than to help other to prevent COVID-19, it’s also to trigger people that they can also do it too and make a change. We also have our fundraising team to find as many support as we can for us to be able to send help to the villages. We also connect with local tailors to contribute in making fabric masks.
More info on Ranu Wellum relief work + posters for distribution.
WAHLI – Indoensia
The donations that you make are for WALHI activities including education, capacity building and community empowerment, environmental activist capacity building, and other activities in an effort to ensure environmental carrying capacity for life to be sustainable, for us and future generations.
Donate here: https://donasipublik.walhi.or.id/
Mesoamerica
AMPB – Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples’ and Trees
The indigenous peoples and local communities of Mesoamerica that make up the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) are implementing local actions to ensure the health of their population in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Territorial organizations collaborate with national and regional health authorities, while generating local solutions to keep communities informed, supplied and protected.
“The coronavirus is now telling the world what we have been saying for thousands of years—that if we do not help protect biodiversity and nature, then we will face this and worse future threats,” said Levi Sucre Romero, AMPB Coordinator.
Find out more about their actions here.
Guna peoples – Panama
Much like the rest of the world, Panama has not escaped the dire situation caused by COVID-19 and many members of the Guna community who live in the city and its surrounding areas are suffering greatly.
Panama has a large informal sector and many who work in these this sector are Indigenous People who previously resided in the comarcas (indigenous regions). They have left the comarcas as the city provides more opportunity. While many of them were able to secure work in the informal sector, their income was not enough to provide them with stability. Therefore, even before COVID-19 they struggled living in poverty. This poverty coupled with the recent measures undertaken by the Panamanian government has prevented them from working on a daily basis and aggravated an already difficult situation. They have not been able to purchase and provide essential items and food for children and other family members.
You can follow our activities on TvIndigena page: www.faceboook.com/tvindigena
K’iche peoples – Guatemala
Fund Guatemala’s White Flags via the Latin America Solidarity Centre Ireland and the Galway Feminist Collective
“Together against COVID19” initiative, which is collecting food, money and medicine. A collection centre has been opened and communication efforts to demand justice and denounce violence against women, children, elderly women as well as military violence against more vulnerable communities, have been expanded.
South America
APIB – Coalition of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil
We are living in critical times
Humankind will face its worst period since World War II. Epidemics are terrible for any society, but we know that for indigenous peoples the impact is even greater. Influenza, smallpox and measles were some of the diseases brought to our territories by non-indigenous people, and slaughtered many of our ancestors.
Coronavirus is another threat. With the fast worldwide spread of the pandemic, it is urgent that we focus our attention on indigenous peoples. The effects on us can be can be devastating! Our communal way of live could enable the fast spread of the virus in our territories if any of us get infected.
Donate now to APIB – Coalition of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, with the collected amount we will be able to buy food, medicine and hygiene material for our villages.
Retweet their call for support.
COICA – Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin
In response to the urgent, immediate and growing threats to the Amazon and its people, NGOs, donors, advisors, as well as international, national and local funds, are coordinating and collaborating to raise and channel funds to indigenous and forest communities and grassroots organizations facing the COVID-19 emergency across the Amazon Basin.
The Amazon Emergency Fund is a newly-formed donor collaborative working in close coordination with COICA (Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin) and its 9 national organizations, as well as partners and allies across the Amazon and around the world, to support emergency COVID-19 response. We are pooling resources and sharing the work of raising and directing rapid response grants to indigenous and forest communities and grassroots organizations in the Amazon who have called upon us to show our solidarity during this emergency.
To donate visit: amazonemergencyfund.org
To join the Founding Solidarity Circle, make a major gift or to recommend grantees, please contact: [email protected].”
CONAQ – National Coordination of Quilombolas – Brazil
CONAQ asks for your contribution to support, with a donation, food and hygiene materials that will be transported to meet the quilombo’s emergency needs. Quilombos that have already been hit by COVID-19 will be prioritized, and quilombos that are overcoming calamity situations, such as quilombos affected by Brumadinho’s crime.
ISA – Brazil
Explore their 57 Covid-19 initiatives here.
Brazilian Human Rights Fund – Brazil
With your support, the Brazil Fund will offer humanitarian and advocacy assistance to the most vulnerable populations [including indigenous peoples and quilombolas] in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. With you, we can really make a difference!
Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (ORPIO) – Colombia
WHY DO WE SEEK YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE AMAZON?
- Because the cases of Covid-19 contagion increase in the Colombian Amazon and the risk of contagion in the Amazonian peoples can be disastrous if immediate measures are not taken.
- Because the Amazon lacks basic conditions such as hospital infrastructure, medical personnel, and access routes to face the pandemic.
- Because historically, the Amazon has been abandoned by the State, despite being “the lung of the world”.
- Because we need to protect the indigenous peoples who are the ancestral guardians of the jungle.
Kichwa peoples – Ecuador
Fund to Ceibo Alliance and CONFENAE via Amazon Frontlines
Ecuador’s death toll from coronavirus is already among the worst in the world, but in the indigenous Amazon, there are grave challenges to diagnosis and treatment due to lack of infrastructure, testing and access to basic supplies. Now, to make matters worse, the biggest oil spill to occur in more than a decade has created a crisis within a crisis for Ecuador’s indigenous population in the Amazon.
Hundreds of indigenous communities that relied on these rivers for food and fresh water are facing food scarcity, and COVID-19 national lockdown has cut off options for outside provisions.
Shipibo Peoples – Peru
There is famine and there is COVID-19.
Now, there is also COVID-19 in the communities, with cases recently confirmed by a medical team in the remote community of Puerto Bethel. There are no tests and no medical attention.
Shipibo leader and president of Coshikox Ronald Suarez, in collaboration with the Shipibo Conibo Center, NY, is asking you to stand in solidarity and help raise the funds to provide self-sufficiency in food alongside soap, disinfectants and protective masks. The funds will be transferred directly to Coshikox and their distribution supervised by Coshikox and the Shipibo Conibo Center in order to guarantee transparency and effective use.
Harakbut, Yine and Matsiguenka Peoples – Peru
Fund to ECA Amarakaeri & PUINAMUDT via Digital Democracy.
We’re asking for your help today to meet immediate needs like soap, masks and protective gear, food, and communications devices to reach isolated communities. Help us close the gap!
We’re taking this extraordinary step outside of our usual role providing technical support because these are extraordinary times, and we believe that with your support we can help our partners meet these urgent needs.
Please, donate today to our Covid Emergency Fund. 100% of donations will go to our partners ECA Amarakaeri & PUINAMUDT, two local organizations in Peru working to support their Indigenous communities to protect their lands, life and cultures from the ongoing threats from mining and oil exploitation, and now the increased threat of extinction from the Pandemic.
Amazon indigenous community Fund – Peru and Brazil
Fund to ORPIO, the Indigenous People’s Organization of the Eastern Amazon (Organización Regional de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente) Peru and CIR, (Conselho Indígena de Roraima or the Indigenous Council of Roraima), Northern Brazil – via Rainforest Foundation US
Your donation today will provide direct and immediate support to indigenous organizations that are delivering aid and services to these communities.
For now, this campaign is supporting ORPIO (in Peru) and CIR (in Brazil), two partner organizations that have called for our support and that we know will carry out the urgent work needed. Neither ORPIO not CIR waited for national declarations or for their governments to take action. They saw the threat and immediately stepped up to the challenge. We expect to add more organizations as needs emerge.
Guaraní peoples of Brazil
Solidarity fund via XR Youth
The Guaraní Commission Yvyrupa is asking those who believe in their struggle to support them financially, so they can buy basic food and hygiene items without risking contagion by leaving their villages.
If they are able to isolate as a community and resist the pandemic, they will be able to keep defending the forests we all depend on to survive the ecological crisis. Destruction of nature has been linked with epidemics like HIV, Dengue, Ebola and now Coronavirus. The preservation of the Brazilian ecosystem is crucial to preventing the breakdown of our global climate system and planetary health!
The funds raised will be used for two purposes only: food and hygiene products. Representatives of the communities decide which communities will receive a parcel democratically through instant messaging.
North America
Native Women’s Association of Canada – Canada
COVID-19 has grown into a global pandemic that is hitting Indigenous communities especially hard. Indigenous women and their families are struggling to cope. Your donations will help our communities deal with their unique challenges during this unprecedented time. Your support can make a significant difference in the coming months – please help.
Honouring Indigenous Peoples – Canada
The coronavirus (COVID-19), which has been classified by the World Health Organization as a pandemic, has spread throughout much of our world. While the number of diagnosed cases in Canada compared with other countries is relatively low, the situation is evolving on a daily basis and even changing by the hour. The Federal and Provincial Governments, and medical advisors are asking all Canadians to take stronger measures to contain the spread of the virus.
We do not know what the future holds and the implications for all of us are serious and concerning. As Indigenous and Non-Indigenous partners, we are committed to working together to battle COVID-19 for the well-being of our communities.
To that end, please make a donation to HIP’s COVID-19 FUND!
Water First – Canada
We recognize the devastating effects that COVID‑19 could have on Indigenous communities, where many drinking water challenges persist and available resources can be stretched thinly even at the best of times — especially in remote locations.
Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre – Canada
This pandemic has made it difficult for us to organize as it brings additional challenges to our Centre, which is annually underfunded. This new extraordinary demand generated by COVID-19 now requires us to purchase and access protective equipment, medical equipment, sanitization supplies, and added health and safety supports. We are also experiencing an increase in demand on our already challenged food supplies. Daily meals, through pick up and deliveries has essentially doubled as we try and meet the demands of our seniors and clients who have self isolated and the homeless who pick up scheduled take-out meals.
Resources
- Indigenous Education, Canadian Future – COVID-19 Resources
- Assembly of First Nations – COVID-19: First Nations Community Guide on
Accessing Additional Supports (PDF)
Press Coverage
National Observer – COVID-19 crisis tells world what Indigenous Peoples have been saying for thousands of years
“COVID-19 and other health endemics are directly connected to climate change and deforestation, according to Indigenous leaders from around the world who gathered on March 13, in New York City, for a panel on Indigenous rights, deforestation and related health endemics.
“The coronavirus is telling the world what Indigenous Peoples have been saying for thousands of years — if we do not help protect biodiversity and nature, we will face this and even worse threats,” said Levi Sucre Romero, a BriBri Indigenous person from Costa Rica and co-coordinator of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB).”
The Indigenous Communities That Predicted Covid-19 – BBC Travel
For hundreds of years, indigenous groups have warned that destroying the environment leads to disease and adversely affects lives and culture. Is the world now ready to listen?