Daiara Tukano addressed “An Urgent Call to Protect the Amazon: An Interfaith Rainforest Initiative Dialogue with Indigenous Leaders” at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, USA.

Good afternoon, I’d like to ask the permission and the blessing of the originary peoples from this land. The permission of the blessing of this beautiful lake that is outside, the sacred waters, the forest, the mountains, each living being of this land. My name is Daiara. 

I come from a place that is so beautiful. I come with the message that was passed by my father and my camping the river and play all day long. He could drink from the water of that river. And in the forest, we have all the food we need to live. And it’s really delicious.

I’d like to say that everybody is invited to go there and know our home. But you know, as it was said before in this stage, our land one day was invaded. And today we are facing a disease caused by the poisoning of our water, our air, the poisoning of our beliefs.

I was listening to one of my grandmothers, one of my northern grandmothers, and she told me right now, listen my granddaughter, when you speak, try to speak to the Creator. So I asked the Creator, please, to blow lightly the winds to clear our minds to release the clear water in the rains and the river to heal our hearts from all the sadness of the past and give us the strength to build by our own actions the opportunity of taking care of life in this planet.

Indigenous territories held more than 80% of biodiversity around the world and the only way to really protect the Amazon and protect the forest is to stand along with Indigenous nations to allow us to keep practicing our culture, our language, our spirituality. Because we know the name of every each tree and animal in the forest. 

In my nation those are all people we say why am I saying the people from the waters, we say the people from the rocks, you come at some the people from the forest, you’re coming from the peoples of the stars, so we can dialogue with all the wisdom that is within nature and we know that in every religion this nature this creation is the true divinity. It is the proof of the existence of life that is so rare in the universe.

So let’s take together care of what is divine. And let’s enjoy the opportunity of being alive together, clearing our heart, clearing our mind, and seeding, seeding love for the next generation, standing as good ancestors today. Ancestors of the forest that will be reborn if we walk for that every day. Thank you so much. Anyuma.