Posts by Barbara Illana
How Indigenous Communities Are Shaping the Future of Coastal Conservation
Written by: Barbara Onkle Insights from Juan Carlos Cruz, Manager, Science & Conservation, ACT Ancestral Tides Program For nearly 30 years, the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) has partnered with Indigenous peoples to protect tropical forests and strengthen biocultural conservation across the Amazon. Today, that same collaborative approach extends beyond the rainforest and into some of Latin America’s most important…
Read MoreGrowing the Next Generation of Indigenous Leaders in Colombia
Written by: Barbara Onkle When Indigenous students leave their communities to pursue higher education, they often face a difficult question: How can they gain new knowledge and opportunities without losing connection to the territories, cultures, and communities that shaped them? For us, the answer lies in investing in Indigenous youth while strengthening their ties to home. Through ACT’s Fellowship…
Read MoreSea Turtle Week: 7 Species, One Ocean, One Shared Future
Written by: Barbara Onkle Sea turtles have traveled the world’s oceans for millions of years. They connect marine ecosystems across vast distances, helping maintain the health of coral reefs, seagrass meadows, coastal habitats, and open oceans. Today, all seven species of sea turtle face growing threats, including habitat loss, plastic pollution, fisheries bycatch, climate change, and coastal…
Read MoreThe Invisible Pollinators of the Amazon
Written by: Barbara Onkle How stingless bees are helping communities protect forests, preserve knowledge, and build sustainable futures When people think of bees, they usually imagine the common honeybee. But across the Amazon, hundreds of native stingless bee species quietly sustain forests, food systems, and cultural traditions, often without being noticed at all. Hidden inside…
Read MoreFrom Territory to Global Dialogue: “One Health” Connects Indigenous Knowledge and Public Policy
Text by Méle Dornelas. Global discussions on climate, health, and development have increasingly pointed to the need to recognize knowledge systems that already exist within territories and communities. International spaces such as the Skoll World Forum, held from April 21–24, 2026, in England, brought together leaders, organizations, and initiatives from around the world to share solutions to complex social and…
Read MoreÃwa People Strengthen Environmental Restoration on Bananal Island
Text by Méle Dornelas · Available in Portuguese. More than 800 seedlings are currently being planted across the territory through the collective work of the entire community. On Bananal Island (Tocantins, Brazil), the Ãwa people are taking new steps toward environmental restoration in their territory. Planting and forest management activities are gaining momentum through the Kawú Nursery, an initiative supported by ACT-Brasil and funded by the Overbrook Foundation and the Scheidel…
Read MoreThe Annulment of Decree 1500: What is at Stake for the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
February 20, 2026 The original article published in Spanish by La Silla Vacia can be found here. Written by Juana Hofman – Director of Technical Territorial Integration at the Amazon Conservation Team Colombia and professor at the Universidad del Rosario. Yesterday’s decision by Colombia’s Council of State (Consejo de Estado) to annul, for formal and…
Read MoreTikuna People Inaugurate Ancestral Museum in the Upper Solimões
On January 24–25, the Tikuna people inaugurated the Tchirugüne Indigenous Museum in the Indigenous Community of Vila Betânia Mecürane, in the Upper Solimões region of Amazonas, Brazil.
Read MoreBetween Body and Territory: Indigenous Women Facing the Climate Crisis
The impacts of the climate crisis on the health and ancestral knowledge of Indigenous women By Rudja Santos from Carta AmazôniaEdited by Méle Dornelas As COP30 brought the Amazon to the center of global discussions on the climate crisis at the end of 2025, the daily lives of Indigenous women reveal a dimension still largely absent from official…
Read MoreCurare: The Amazonian Arrow Poison and Its Role in History and Medicine
Written by: Barbara Onkle Curare is a plant-based arrow poison perfected over centuries by Indigenous peoples of the Amazonia. Applied to the tips of both blowgun darts and arrows, it induces profound muscle relaxation, ultimately stopping breathing by paralyzing the diaphragm. This remarkable botanical technology was central to subsistence hunting in tropical rainforests, where dense…
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