Public Project
Crossing the Rivers of Resistance
A 2023 far-right campaign seeks to dismantle the only law protecting these communities, Law No. 28736, which safeguards 25 groups of Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. This proposed legislation aims to delegitimize their existence, strip their land rights, and open their reserves to destructive gas, oil, and timber extraction—actions that would violate human rights and devastate biodiversity.
"Crossing the Rivers of Resistance" sheds light on this urgent crisis, investigating the impacts of extractive activities in the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve and the Matsés National Reserve. It documents the dangers PIACI face, including forced contact, food shortages, and violent encounters. This project seeks to amplify their voices and reveal the cultural and ecological significance of protecting these last nomadic populations.
Granted with the Pulitzer Center RJF in 2023.
Published in:
The Washington Post: Loggers encroach on an uncontacted tribe, and the government shrugs.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/25/uncontacted-indigenous-tribe-amazon-peru/
El Pais (Spain): The Amazon Indigenous people in voluntary isolation and the struggle for their right to life.
https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2023-06-30/la-batalla-por-existir-de-las-tribus-aisladas-de-peru.html
The Washington Post: The race to extract an Indigenous language from its last lucid speaker.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/23/endangered-language-iskonawa-amazon-peru/
Liberation: In Peru, the Threatened Future of the Mashco Piro, the Largest "Uncontacted" People of the Amazon
https://www.liberation.fr/international/amerique/au-perou-lavenir-menace-des-mashco-piro-plus-grand-peuple-non-contacte-damazonie-20250101_QAKD74JLNVCWFFKJDOKEZVHHYI/
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