Main fundraiser photo

Support Native Women in the Amazon

Donation protected
My name is Maria Dorsey, I live in Oakland California, was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia and raised in central Illinois. I am an activist, a member of Idle No More SF Bay, an Amazon Watch volunteer and a signer of the Indigenous Women of the Americas Defending  Mother Earth Treaty.

I have been invited to the Sapara Nation in the Ecuadorean Amazon by Gloria Ushigua Santi.  Gloria is a fierce advocate for her people and the earth they protect. She is also the leader of Ashinwaka, the Sapara Women's Association, as well as an original signer of the Indigenous Women of the Americas Defending Mother Earth Treaty in 2015. The Sapara Nation is located in the most biodiverse place in the world, Yasuni, a World Heritage Park in the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador.
I am traveling to Sapara Territory in the end of January to live with the tribe for six months. I will travel by commercial plane to Ecuador, a bush plane into the  Amazon, and a small boat to Gloria’s village. I will be assisting Gloria in the work she is doing and learning from her community.

I am requesting your help in funding for myself and the work that Gloria is doing to for her people, the living jungle, their rights to clean soil, water, air and the continuance of their lives and culture:

 Translations of letters written by Gloria
 Our travels to meet with government officials
 Funds for community events
 Travel expenses to get there and return
 Supplies to live in the Amazon for 6 months (such as mosquito netting, boots, medicinal
supplies, water filter, etc. (I will be transparent to all my donors and friends by posting on my
Facebook page when possible)
 Living expenses for food and incidentals

Thank you very much for your contributions. it is so very appreciated and will go toward necessary work for our planet, our climate and the indigenous people who care for her in one of the most remote places on Earth.

More information on Gloria and the Indigenous people in the Ecuadorean Amazon:

Currently the Ecuadorian government is over 15 billion dollars in debt to China and desperate to pay off this debt, which China is demanding in oil. Ecuador has  roken down the Amazonian territories into blocks which they have sold off, illegally, without the consent of the many indigenous tribes that reside within the rainforest. Gloria has tirelessly been working to raise awareness on this deadly threat not only to their water and land but their culture and very existence, not to mention the existence of the untouched tribes which surround them. They have already started drilling in Yasuni National Park, pristine Amazonian land inhabited by two of the last tribes in the world living in voluntary isolation.
Until this controversy over the Yasuni National Park, Ecuador was considered one of the most environmentally progressive countries in the world, Including the rights of nature in their own constitution!

Gloria and her brother Manari (the leader of the Sapara people) have spoken around the world on the serious issues they are facing, including at the United Nations Climate Talks. They both, as well as many others have had their lives threatened for their boldness in standing up to the government and big oil companies on behalf of their people and right to exist. If the oil companies are allowed to proceed with drilling plans it will mean sure genocide of many diverse tribes, irreplaceable natural biodiversity and throw off the entire ecosystem of the Amazon Rainforest, which is what keeps our entire planet's climate in balance. Gloria has been labeled a terrorist, detained by immigration in Ecuador, tear gassed in her own home and had a family member recently murdered in a case of mistaken identity...for
Gloria.

For more information here are several links!

Indigenous Women of the Americas Defending Mother Earth Treaty:
www.IndigenousWomenRising.org

Delivering a letter to the Chinese Consulate in SF when Gloria was here:
http://amazonwatch.org/news/2017/0719-how-we-win-speak-truth-to-power-and-build-solidarity

Yasuni National Park Oil Drilling
http://amazonwatch.org/news/2016/0404-ecuador-drills-for-oil-on-edge-of-pristine-rainforest-in-yasuni 

Amazon Watch is an incredible resource for learning more about protecting the indigenous people and rainforest.  
www.AmazonWatch.org

Organizer

María Xiomára Dorsey-Chingaté
Organizer
Emeryville, CA

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee