On International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, CEAMA Vice President Fr. Jesús Huamán Conisilla calls for recognition of the ancestral wealth of Indigenous Peoples and urges us not to remain indifferent to the threats they face in the Amazon.
In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, where rivers serve as paths and forests hold the memory of generations, indigenous peoples continue to maintain a deep relationship with the land and with all of creation. On the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) recognizes their dignity, their ancestral wisdom, and their indispensable contribution to the care of our Common Home.
From Madre de Dios, Fr. Jesús Huamán Conisilla, a priest of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Maldonado and vice president of CEAMA, expresses his respect and gratitude to the indigenous peoples, especially those living in communities far removed from major urban centers.
“These peoples have lived in the Amazon long before any settlers arrived here,” recalls Father Jesús. For generations, they have learned to listen to, understand, and respect the nature that surrounds them. They are not merely inhabitants of the Amazon—they are part of it and have helped preserve it for generations.
A Wealth That Cannot Be Measured in Money
For the vice president of CEAMA, the wealth of Indigenous peoples also lies in what cannot be reduced to an economic figure: their languages, customs, knowledge, artistic expressions, stories, and ways of relating to the land.
“In their knowledge, their languages, their customs, their arts, their stories, and their way of relating to the land, we find a wealth that cannot be measured solely in monetary terms,” he states.
This ancestral wisdom is a contribution not only to the Amazon but to all of humanity. In the face of an ecological crisis that threatens forests, rivers, and communities, Indigenous peoples continue to demonstrate that there are ways of relating to the land based on respect, care, and reciprocity.
However, this wealth coexists with a reality marked by profound inequalities.
Communities Still Awaiting Fundamental Rights
Fr. Jesús Huamán warns that many indigenous peoples, especially those living far from major cities and capitals, continue to face severe hardships.
Access to healthcare is one of them. In many communities, an emergency can mean traveling for days along rivers to reach a healthcare facility. In some cases, people die along the way. Access to education is also limited, and basic services remain unfulfilled for numerous communities.
In these territories, the river remains the primary—and often the only—means of transportation.
This reality, the priest notes, challenges society as a whole and demands a response that places the dignity of individuals and communities at the center.
Guardians of the Forest in the Face of Threats
While facing these hardships, indigenous communities continue to play a vital role in protecting the Amazon’s forests and territories. Precisely for this reason, they are also exposed to multiple threats.
Illegal mining, indiscriminate logging, and the pollution of rivers and land directly affect their territories, their food sources, and their traditional ways of life. When a river is polluted, it is not just a natural resource that is lost: the lives of communities—their fish, their food, their culture, and their future—are affected.
The defense of Indigenous peoples is, therefore, inseparable from the defense of the Amazon.
“There can be no healthy Amazon if its Indigenous peoples are forgotten”
On this International Day of Indigenous Peoples, Fr. Jesús Huamán’s message serves as an invitation to look beyond the statistics and recognize the real faces of those who sustain life in the Amazon.
“There can be no healthy Amazon if its Indigenous peoples are forgotten,” he affirms.
For this reason, the celebration of this day cannot be limited to mere symbolic recognition. It is also an opportunity to listen to their voices, value their knowledge, defend their rights, and walk alongside them in their daily lives.
For CEAMA, walking alongside Indigenous peoples means recognizing them as protagonists of ecclesial and Amazonian life. It means learning from their wisdom and strengthening a Church that listens, accompanies, and commits itself to those who defend their territories and our Common Home.
From the Amazon, CEAMA expresses its gratitude to all Indigenous peoples and renews its commitment to walk with them so that their cultures, languages, territories, and knowledge may continue to be a source of life and hope.
Because caring for the Amazon also means caring for those who, generation after generation, have learned to live in it, with it, and for it.