This International Women’s Month, we honor the Indigenous women championing their people, culture, and land.

Throughout the Amazon, Indigenous women are not only protectors of the land but also keepers of ancestral knowledge, ensuring the survival of their culture, their people, and the Amazon.

The Chapra Nation have lived in a reciprocal relationship with the land in the Peruvian Amazon for over 7,000 years. They traditionally honored women's central roles within their community, but colonialism targeted and destabilized their leadership structures and culture.

Yet, Chapra women have continued to resist this erasure. In the past decade, several strong women have reclaimed key community leadership roles.

One of them is Olivia Bisa Tirko, the first woman President of the Chapra Nation. Olivia’s leadership has broken barriers and inspired women and youth to feel pride in their Chapra identity and unite to confront predatory oil companies.