“Before they told us we didn’t exist;
now they know we do.”
Meybi Chamarra, Secretary of the Wounaan National Congress
Can you care for people you’ve never heard of?
Doing so has raised the profile of Indigenous peoples and their issues inside and outside Panama.
We at Native Future think that’s pretty hard to do. So we collaborate with journalists, photographers, videographers, and communications specialists to help our Indigenous partners document and communicate their stories to a greater audience. Our work has resulted in front-page articles and featured videos, and has increased Indigenous capacity to work with the press and manage social and other media.
PRESS
Yale Environment 360
Authors: Jim O'Donnell & Cullen Heater
La Estrella de Panamá
Author: Francisco Herrera
Native Lines - La Trocha de Platanares
The winter in North America is the dry season in Panama. For Wounaan communities on the Pacific Coast of Panama’s Darien, the dry season means a high-stakes conflict with illegal loggers invading their land and stripping their forests. The 2012 logging season was the worst in history for the three Wounaan communities of Rio Hondo, Platanares, and Maje. Hundreds of acres of pristine tropical forest were lost, rivers were destroyed, downstream communities starved and violent conflict left the leader of Platanares dead.