MCC Daily Tribune

Presentation Today at 12:15 pm - Leaders of Sarayaku: Connecting Indigenous Roots in Ecuador

Please join us for a virtual presentation, Leaders of Sarayaku: Connecting Indigenous Roots, on February 24 @ 12:15PM. [Poster attached.]

We will welcome four leaders from Sarayaku’s Kichwa communities in Ecuador who will share their experience of being at the forefront of indigenous rights mobilization. Take part in this rich cultural exchange and learn about indigenous cosmologies and the human rights framework.

On the panel: Mario Santi, former President of Sarayaku; Abigail Gualinga, youth advocate and leader of the organization Samaruta; Fausto Santi, elected representative of Sarayaku’s Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest); and Yaku Viteri, representative of Sarayaku’s external relations and singer/musician. There will be an open Q&A session at the end of the presentation. The presentation will be in Spanish with an English translator on hand.

Registration is free but required, so please sign up HERE today!

If you cannot attend today, there is an opportunity to hear this panel on Thursday.

The registration link for Thursday, Feb 25 @11AM is: https://bit.ly/2ODNqJH

From Wikipedia:

Sarayaku (Quechuan: "The River of Corn"; also transcribed Sarayacu) is a territory and a village situated by the Bobonaza River in the province of Pastaza in the southern part of el Oriente, the Amazonic region of Ecuador. The territory incorporates a number of villages. 

It has a total population figure of between 1,000 and 2,000 Kichwa-speaking people, who call themselves the Runa people of Sarayaku, or the Sarayaku people. These indigenous people are organized as the “Organización de Pueblos Indígenas de Pastaza” (OPIP). The leader of the Sarayaku people is Jose Gualinga (2011). 

Since the early 21st century, the Sarayaku have engaged in a decade-long effort to resist efforts to drill for oil in their community, putting them at cross purposes with the Ecuadorian government and various multinational oil companies. The Sarayaku have used protests and legal challenges, successfully pursuing a suit in court.[1] 

Attached Files:
Sarayaku presentation 24Feb2021 - MCC (1).pdf

Christina Lee
Global Education & International Services
02/24/2021