Around 1995 an intact and healthy aboriginal community’s pristine Amazonian environment was threatened by development companies looking for oil, minerals, and other resources. The Achuar people of Ecuador are a “dream culture”; their leaders began to perceive in their visions that they needed to connect with like-minded spirits among people of the very same developed world which was threatening them.
Protecting the Sacred in a Shattered World
The following is a keynote address delivered by Hereditary Chief Phil Lane Jr. of the Ihanktowan, Dakota, Chickasaw Nation. He was speaking to the 3rd Annual International Indigenous Leaders Gathering focused on the theme “Protecting the Sacred.” It was held in Lillooet, British Columbia, May 30-June 5, 2011.
Indigenous Peoples Making an Interfaith Difference
Indigenous peoples were welcomed to the 1993, 1999, and 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions and they enriched those gatherings. But the 2009 Parliament held in Melbourne will be remembered for holding up the significant contributions that Indigenous people are making to the interfaith movement.