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Alex Tinyú, a recently contacted Nukak man © David Hill

Dear Jack,

This Giving Tuesday, I’d like to share the story of Alex Tinyú, a recently contacted Nukak man who is fighting for his people and his forest home. Jack, please stand by Indigenous people like Alex in the fight for their lands.

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I met Alex in Charras resettlement camp in Colombia, 2022. The camp was bleak and rudimentary: black plastic sheets propped up as roofs, torn by the heavy wind and rain—nothing like the luscious tree canopy of the Nukak’s forest home. In the 1980s, when Alex was only a child, his people were violently driven from their home by invading missionaries, colonizers, coca growers and armed groups. More than half of the Nukak population died of diseases the invaders brought with them, and the survivors were forced into resettlement camps. Many have had no choice but to remain here for decades. Alex told me their story.

“My people, the Nukak, lived in peace in our territory—hunting, fishing and gathering as we had done for generations. But everything changed with contact.”

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“When the settlers arrived, they brought with them diseases…violence. Death came quickly and without warning. Entire families disappeared. Children were left alone, without parents or grandparents to protect them. Some starved to death.

“The pain was unbearable. Many Nukak did not want to go on living and took barbasco, the poison we use for fishing, to end their suffering. We were treated as if we were worthless. There was abuse, rape. We didn’t know what rape was before…”

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Some Nukak have returned to their ancestral home—an incredibly dangerous choice. Their forest remains riddled with landmines, violent gangs and illegal coca plantations. But their determination to reclaim their home and rebuild their lives outweighs even these grave threats.

“They took away our way of life, they took away our land, and they are still threatening us. We haven’t done anything to deserve this. We only ask for respect and justice.”

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Jack, Indigenous peoples all over the world are fighting for respect and justice—but they need us to stand with them. Survival is lobbying Colombian authorities to uphold the Nukak’s right to their land. Will you support their fight this Giving Tuesday?

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Thank you,

Sara Mediavilla
Researcher

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