In Charras, southeast Colombia, an elderly Nukak woman lies in a hammock suspended over bare, cracked earth. Above her, green plastic sheeting and corrugated iron block out the sky. She closes her eyes, thinks back to home: lush, dense rainforest; an abundance of fruit, fish and honey; her children, healthy and happy.

Now, all of this is a distant memory. Her people’s land has been stolen. Many of her family members are dead. But she will never stop fighting.

Jack, this Giving Tuesday, please support the fight for Indigenous lives and lands.

An Indigenous hunter gatherer people, the Nukak lived for generations in the Colombian Amazon, refusing contact with outsiders. But in the 1980s, pressure on their ancestral land from colonizers, coca growers, armed groups and missionaries forced the Nukak into contact. What followed was decades of devastation. In the years after contact, more than half of the Nukak population died of diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and flu. Their future hung in the balance.

Campaigning for the Nukak’s rights has already made a huge difference. Following campaigns led by local Indigenous organizations and amplified internationally by Survival, the Nukak Indigenous Reserve was created by the Colombian government in 1993. But the land’s continued exploitation has left much of the reserve deforested, littered with landmines and plagued with conflict.

Once one of the most mobile peoples on Earth, many Nukak were forced into resettlement camps outside of their territory, where some remain today. Basic healthcare is almost nonexistent and malnutrition is widespread. The young Nukak are exposed to drug and alcohol abuse, sexual exploitation, and forced labor in illegal coca plantations.

“We are very abandoned here, but the Nukak will always fight for their family.” — Alex Tinyú, Nukak people, Colombia

Despite everything they’ve experienced, the Nukak are incredibly strong. They are determined to return to their ancestral territory and their lives as self-sufficient, thriving people. Some groups have already gone back, but they need support.

Survival is lobbying Colombian authorities to uphold the Nukak’s right to their land, and supporting projects led by the Nukak which protect their generational knowledge. Jack, your contribution makes Survival’s work possible.

This Giving Tuesday, you can make twice the difference. Thanks to support from two generous donors, all gifts up to £90,000 / $120,000 will be doubled at no extra cost to you.

Thank you,

Caroline Pearce
Director