Mona Polacca addressed the assembly “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.

First of all, I’d just like to give thanks.

I’m grateful. I’m grateful for this time. I’m grateful to stand before you. Those of you that are here and to hear this message of hope. Actually it’s a message of hope because what it does is, it creates this heartfelt feeling. It’s deep in there. Because you know when we talk about being relatives, being brothers and sisters, that means we come from the same blood we come from the same blood.Through our connection to the Earth our mother through our connection with the water our mother water the water we lived in our mother’s room and the water that we depend on each and every day 

And our connection to the sacred fire or the Sun and our connection to all of the things that come from all of these divine creations that give us a life. We eat of the Earth and each and every one of us, we have a place that we originate from. Our relatives in the Amazon, this is the place where the Good Creator and Mother Earth put them there.

They know no other home, as my dear beautiful wonderful granddaughter Daira said, it’s their relationship with everything within the Earth as well their roots and when I’m saying all this about these good relatives in the Amazon I’m also talking about you these good relatives. They know how to live there. They know their medicine that they need whenever they need a special medicine that will take care of them and they know the beautiful foods and wonderful foods that give them life. There they know about their relationship with the animal life four-legged dwing, the ones that live in the water. 

And if myself, I look at that, and I myself personally have experienced the aliveness of the Amazon rainforest. But you can experience it all around you here even. But this is their home. They don’t have anywhere else to go. And the good creator gave that home to them. How is it that our man-made laws are determining who shall enjoy the pursuits of life, of freedom, their spiritual practices and beliefs? Who is that, why is it that way? Someone can determine the destination of another complete people who have been making this place their paradise.

And they have kept it in good order as far as I can see. They have followed what we Indigenous people call the original instructions and so they’re in a position now, this sending out and asking for us all to come to their aid because what they’re doing isn’t just for them, our whole existence is related to the outcome of the decisions that are being made about the lands waters of our Amazon relatives.

So I just wanted to say that much to you. Thank you for listening and blessings to our good relatives who made a long trip to be here. I send my prayers over there with these relatives that couldn’t be here. So thank you very much for giving me this opportunity.