Société des Américanistes

This first section reports on works of a scientific nature, written by social sciences researchers, often in collaboration with indigenous witnesses of the sanitary situation in their communities of origin.

 

• Mundo Amazónico, two issues of the journal, titled « Reflexiones y perspectivas en torno a la pandemia de COVID-19 », have recently been devoted to COVID-19 in the Amazon,

• 11 Num. 2, July-December 2020: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/imanimundo/issue/view/5464
• 12, Num. 1, January-June 2021: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/imanimundo/issue/view/5527

 

• Revista Vukapanavo, Volume 3, Issue 3, October/November 2020, Special issue Pandemia da Covid-19 na Vida dos Povos Indigenas, edited by Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB), in collaboration with Revista Terena Vukapanavo and the support of Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. https://www.vukapanavo.com/

 

• COVIDAM, Mai 26, 2020, « Le double choc de la Covid-19 sur une petite communauté d’Amazonie brésilienne », by François-Michel Le Tourneau. The article focuses on the Amerindians of the state of Amapá (Brazil) and the care they received from local health services. The author recounts the testimonies of acquaintances from São Francisco do Iratapuru, a sustainable development reserve of 806,000 hectares, whose inhabitants live mainly from the collection of Brazil nuts. In this place, social distancing seems difficult to maintain, as everyone lives side by side and most of the day-to-day business is managed collectively. Hospitals in the area, meanwhile, are sorely lacking in equipment. https://covidam.institutdesameriques.fr/le-double-choc-de-la-covid-19-sur-une-petite-communaute-damazonie-bresilienne/

 

• COVIDAM, February 04, 2021, « L’impact sanitaire et culturel de la covid-19 sur les réserves sioux du Dakota du Sud », by Claire Anchordoqui. Article focusing on the forms of local management of lockdown and vaccination by the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Lakota groups. https://covidam.institutdesameriques.fr/limpact-sanitaire-et-culturel-de-la-covid-19-sur-les-reserves-sioux-du-dakota-du-sud/

 

• COVIDAM, December 16, 2020, « Amazonie, une histoire sans geste barrière », by Stephen Rostain. The article reviews, from a historical perspective, the management of epidemics in the Amerindian Amazon. The author retraces the Amerindian healing techniques, which are based on an excellent knowledge of the tropical pharmacopoeia. He emphasizes that these skills have been amply mobilized in the context of the recent pandemic, and that care protocols, based on a thorough use of medicinal plants, have been attempted in many points of the lowlands. https://covidam.institutdesameriques.fr/amazonie-une-histoire-sans-geste-barriere/

 

• CNRS, Le Journal, September 11, 2020, « Les peuples autochtones à l’épreuve du Covid-19 », by Irène Bellier. Interview of Bellier (CNRS), who synthesised a large amount of data concerning the impact of COVID-19 among indigenous peoples around the world (North America, South America and the Caribbean, Africa, Arctic, Asia, Oceania and the Russian Federation). Bellier reports that mortality rates are particularly high in indigenous groups, due to the often-difficult socio-economic conditions in which they live, which increase their vulnerability to this new infectious agent. The anthropologist also underlines how, in these societies, there is often a close link between the integrity of the territory and the health of individuals. https://lejournal.cnrs.fr/articles/les-peuples-autochtones-a-lepreuve-du-covid-19

 

• GITPA, May 20, 2020, « Les peuples autochtones face au Covid-19 : un tour d’horizon au 20 mai 2020 », summary article by Irène Bellier on the impacts of COVID-19 among indigenous people around the world. https://gitpa.org/Qui%20sommes%20nous%20GITPA%20100/ACTUlettreCOVIDetPA%20Bellier.htm

 

• Aparecida Vilaça, Morte na Floresta, Um ensaio seminal sobre o contágio dos povos indígenas no Brasil, éd. Todavia (Coleção Ensaios sobre a pandemia), 2020. Anthropologist Aparecida Vilaça reflects here on the fact that for the first time in centuries, invaders and Amerindians are suffering from the same symptoms when faced with a virus, COVID-19. The book emphasizes that sharing a common vulnerability is an opportunity to rethink the relationship with Amerindian societies. https://todavialivros.com.br/livros/morte-na-floresta

 

• Carlos Fausto, “O sarampo do tempo de meu avô: memórias do etnocídio na pandemia”, Nexo Jornal, April 24, 2020. In this short article, Carlos Fausto explores the way in which COVID-19 rekindles the memory of past epidemics in his Kuikuru interlocutors. https://www.nexojornal.com.br/ensaio/debate/2020/O-sarampo-do-tempo-de-meu-av%C3%B4-mem%C3%B3rias-do-etnoc%C3%ADdio-na-pandemia

 

• Bruce Albert, “Yanomami: the disappearing deaths of the pandemic”, XAWARA. Rastros da Covid-19 na TIY e a omissão do Estado, 2020. https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1s0VatcJS42bp5pW58vayovsm4rygi58y?usp=sharing

 

• Bruce Albert, “Covid-19: Lessons From the Yanomami”, The New York Times, April 27, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/opinion/yanomami-covid-brazil.html

 

• Bruce Albert Face au coronavirus, « nous sommes tous devenus amérindiens ! », Le Monde, April 19, 2020. https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2020/04/19/covid-19-nous-sommes-tous-devenus-amerindiens_6037067_3232.html

 

• Bruce Albert et Nicolas Bourcier, “Coronavirus: Les Amérindiens ont compris que les Blancs ne peuvent rien pour eux”, Le Monde, April 13, 2020. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/04/13/coronavirus-les-amerindiens-ont-compris-que-les-blancs-ne-peuvent-rien-pour-eux_6036421_3210.html

 

• Revista Intercambio, March 21, 2021. Article by Oscar Espinosa de Rivero, professor at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP) and specialist of the Peruvian Amazon. The author lists the challenges faced by the Amerindian communities of the Peruvian Amazon, confronted with the COVID 19 pandemic, but also with extremely violent pressures on their territories. https://intercambio.pe/comunidades-amazonia-2021/

 

• Centro de Estudios en Salud y Sociedad à El Colegio de Sonora, “Pueblos indígenas mexicanos frente a la pandemia Covid-19”, May 7, 2020. This dossier, prepared by Jesús Armando Haro, presents a collection of nearly 150 press notes on the situation of the indigenous peoples of Mexico faced with the Covid-19 pandemic. https://www.clacso.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Haro-2020-Dossier-Indigenas-mexicanos-frente-a-la-pandemia-Covid19.pdf

 

• Jeffrey H. Cohen, “Los indígenas mexicanos se repliegan para sobrevivir a la Covid-19 aislando pueblos y cultivando su comida”, September 9, 2020. Anthropologist Jeffrey H. Cohen describes how Zapotec villages in Oaxaca dealt with the spread of Covid-19 by establishing roadblocks and networks of intra-community cooperation. https://theconversation.com/los-indigenas-mexicanos-se-repliegan-para-sobrevivir-a-la-covid-19-aislando-pueblos-y-cultivando-su-comida-145521

 

• Luis Joel Morales Escobedo, “El confinamiento y el trabajo de campo en tiempos del coronavirus, Vol. II”, September 8, 2020. In this second episode of a podcast dedicated to fieldwork during the Covid-19 pandemic, anthropologist Luis Joel Morales describes his working conditions with indigenous cooperatives in the highlands of Chiapas. He explains that he had to deal with the scepticism of many of his Tseltal and Tsotsil interlocutors about the disease and the health guidelines, and to adapt accordingly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL-rbUaFmZo

 

• Jan Rus, “Covid-19 en Chiapas indígena: cuestionando una pandemia oculta”. November 2020. Based on his telephone conversations with former interlocutors, colleagues and students from Tseltal, Tsotsil, Ch’ol and Mam, Mayanist anthropologist Jan Rus criticizes the invisibility, in the Spanish-language press, of the deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in indigenous communities in Chiapas. https://www.openanthroresearch.org/doi/pdf/10.1002/oarr.10000351.1

 

• Leonardo Toledo Garibaldi, “La suma de todos los miedos: el Covid-19 en las cadenas de WhatsApp de Chiapas”, Chiapas Paralelo, July 14, 2020. Based on a systematic review of six WhatsApp groups, as well as several Facebook and Twitter profiles, anthropologist Leonardo Toledo describes how the digital circulation of a series of rumours about Covid-19, spread in Spanish and Tsotsil in communities in the Chiapas highlands, provoked numerous violent incidents against government officials. https://www.chiapasparalelo.com/opinion/2020/07/la-suma-de-todos-los-miedos-el-covid-19-en-las-cadenas-de-whatsapp-de-chiapas/

 

Updated 09/29/2021:

• Barbosa Gonçalves Chryslen Mayra & Chambi Mayta Roger Adan, 2021, “Ñankha usu, khapaj niño, mallku usu. Crisis politica y crisis sanitaria en la Bolivia andina : respuestas indigenas”, Maloca. Revista de Estudos Indigenas, v.4, pp.1-29. The authors document the arrival of the coronavirus on Bolivian territory (Andean), against the backdrop of the political crisis it was facing. https://econtents.bc.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/maloca/article/view/14325/10355

 

• Cordoba Diana, Peredo Ana Maria & Chaves Paola, 2021, “Shaping alternatives to development: Solidarity and reciprocity in the Andes during COVID-19”, Wold Development, vol. 139, pp. 1-10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X20304502?casa_token=Lexy7PbCnKUAAAAA:Nje77z55IqhUa8WhrWqmr6PcUPbapsTtOiiBZzwzGhuQt8QeFey-r5z1rdQA_y2oVgDBlpmZxw

 

• Pachaguaya Yurja Pedro, 2021, “Medico y yatiri como chachawarmi. De la colonialidad a la interculturalidad para hacer frente al Covid-19”, Antropologia, Covid-19, pueblos indigenas, Bolivia, no page numbers. In this short article, anthropologist Pedro Pachaguaya Yurja presents testimonies gathered from Bolivians living in the La Paz region. The complementary relationship between traditional medicine and biomedicine is viewed as a way to mitigate the health system’s dysfunctions. https://www.academia.edu/44991509/M%C3%89DICO_Y_YATIRI_COMO_CHACHAWARMI_De_la_colonialidad_a_la_interculturalidad_para_hacer_frente_al_Covid_19

 

• Pachaguaya Yurja Pedro & Terrazas Sosa Claudia, 2020, Una cuarentena individual para una sociedad colectiva : La llegada y despacho del Khapaj Niño Coronavirus a Bolivia, Asociación Departamental de Antropólogos, ADA-La Paz e Instituto de Investigación y Acción para el Desarrollo Integral – IIADI, La Paz. In this book, several authors, document the arrival of Covid 19, based on accounts and testimonies gathered among residents of the La Paz, Oruro and Chuquisaca regions. These accounts show how the coronavirus is incorporated into the local cosmovision. The virus is perceived as a “visitor” to whom is assigned names and characteristics already found among the lexical fields that pertain to pathogenic non-human entities (AIDS, measles, smallpox). This work also looks at Bovilia’s health system organization and the initiatives that were taken by the inhabitants to mitigate its malfunctions. https://www.academia.edu/48860257/%C3%91ANKHA_USU_KHAPAJ_NI%C3%91O_MALLKU_USU_Crisis_pol%C3%ADtica_y_crisis_sanitaria_en_la_Bolivia_andina_respuestas_ind%C3%ADgenas

 

• PANDEMICENE PODCAST, Octobre 10^th 2020, episode 1. “On Indigenous-led Techno-scientific Innovation”. Isa Ansari invited Kim Tallbear and Jessica Kolopenuk from the University of Alberta, in Canada, to discuss their works about Indigenous peoples and pandemics. Web link:

https://scijust.ucsc.edu/2020/10/10/pandemicene-podcast-1-ansari-tallbear-kolopenuk/

 

• NATIVE NATIONS INSTITUTE, Decembre 3^rd 2020. “Indigenous Scholars Discuss Climate Change, COVID-19, Data & Research Priorities in the Southwest”. Two video recordings recorded during the Data & Research Priorities for Southwest Tribal Climate Resilience Summit on October 21^st 2020 at the University of Arizona. Web link: http://nni.arizona.edu/news/articles/indigenous-scholars-discuss-climate-change-covid-19-data-research-priorities-southwest

 

• SOCIÉTÉ ROYALE DU CANADA, December 11^th 2020. “COVID-19 and Indigenous Health and Wellness: Our Strength is in our Stories” is a report that brings together testimonies from numerous Native American researchers, with the aim of improving our understanding of the pandemic’s impact on the Indigenous peoples in Canada. Web link: https://rsc-src.ca/en/research-and-reports/covid-19-policy-briefing/indigenous-health-and-wellness/covid-19-and-indigenous

 

• URBAN INDIAN HEALTH INSTITUTE, February 15^th 2021. “Data Genocide of American Indians and Alaska Natives in COVID-19 Data” is a report from the Urban Indian Health Institute concerning the lack of available statistical data about the pandemic’s impact among Native American peoples in the United States. Web link: https://www.uihi.org/projects/data-genocide-of-american-indians-and-alaska-natives-in-covid-19-data/

 

• URBAN INDIAN HEALTH INSTITUTE, May 4^th 2021. “Protecting the Sacred: Addressing sexual violence and gender-based violence against Natives in the COVID-19 pandemic” is a report from the Urban Indian Health Institute concerning sexual violence against Native American peoples during the pandemic. Web link: https://www.uihi.org/projects/protecting-the-sacred/

 

• Marcelo Moura Silva et Carlos Estellita-Lins, “A xawara e os mortos: os Yanomami, luto e luta na pandemia da Covid-19”, Horizontes Antropológicos, n°59, pp.267-285, 2021. This article focuses on the difficulties experienced by the Yanomami to carry out their funeral practices in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Web link: https://journals.openedition.org/horizontes/5185

 

• Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore (MUSEF), 2021, Contextos pandémicos. Pueblos y naciones indígenas en Bolivia ante las pandemias y el COVID-19, La Paz, (Anales de la Reunión Anual de Etnología, XXXIV), 144 p. The articles in this book, published by the Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore de La Paz, describe the experiences of Bolivia’s ‘indigenous, native and peasant’ groups in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The contributors draw on ethnohistory, political science and anthropology to provide a rigorous overview of the situation of the country’s Amerindians (whether in the Andes, in the lowlands or in urban areas). http://www.musef.org.bo/rebelion-de-los-objetos-2020.

This section contains testimonies from Amerindians describing their experience of the sanitary situation.

 

• Fondation Sacha Warmi, September 20, 2020, Rosa Canelos, director of the « Mujer, Familia y Territorio » program, evokes the reactions of the Kichwa of the Rio Pastaza (Peru) to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular the recourse to « traditional » social and sanitary practices. https://www.sachawarmi.org/reflexiones-sobre-la-pandemia-del-covid19-rosa-canelos-vargas-pastaza-amazonia-ecuatoriana/

 

• Servindi, March 23, 2020. Chronicle of the Awajun leader Gil Inoach on his experience of lockdown in Lima, and on the memory of epidemics among the Awajun. http://www.servindi.org/actualidad-cronica/23/03/2020/las-cuarentenas-de-gil-inoach

 

• CAAAP, December 18, 2020. Chronicles of several Urarina leaders on their successive meetings with the Peruvian state officials, and in particular their repeated demands for a local reinforcement of the health infrastructure. https://www.caaap.org.pe/2020/12/18/no-quiero-irme-con-la-palabra-en-la-boca-cronica-de-los-apus-del-urituyacu-en-iquitos/

 

• Tipiti, Open letter from North American Amerindians in support of the indigenous people of Brazil (letter available in Spanish, Portuguese and English): « Una carta abierta de los Pueblos Indígenas del Norte a los Pueblos Indígenas de Brasil sobre cómo sobrevivir al COVID-19 ». https://www.salsa-tipiti.org/covid-19/open-letter-from-indigenous-peoples-on-surviving-covid/

 

• Debates indigenas, July 1, 2000, chronicle of the pandemic in Achuar territory (northern Peru). https://debatesindigenas.org/notas/53-cronica-pandemia-territorio-achuar.html

 

• Yasnava E. Aguilar, “La pandemia nos va a enseñar a tener respuestas colectivas”, August 29, 2020. In this interview, Mixe linguist Yasnaya Aguilar invites us to imagine the possibilities of autonomy that can arise from the community experiences in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic amongst the Mixe of Oaxaca. https://elpais.com/mexico/2020-08-29/yasnaya-e-aguilar-la-pandemia-nos-va-a-ensenar-a-tener-respuestas-colectivas.html

 

• Yasnaya E. Aguilar, “Jëën pä’äm o la enfermedad del fuego”, March 22, 2020. In this essay, Mixe linguist Yasnaya Aguilar explores the parallels between the emergence of Covid-19 and the memory of past pandemics in the oral tradition of the Oaxaca Amerindians. https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/03/22/opinion/1584851651_880173.html

 

• Pedro Uc, “Alternativas de resistencia maya en tiempo de pandemia”, August 19, 2020. Yucatec Mayan poet and environmentalist Pedro Uc situates the Covid-19 pandemic in a larger context of impacts on the Amerindian way of life, in particular due to the expansion of monocultures, mass tourism and massive infrastructure projects in the Yucatan peninsula. http://visionpeninsular.com/mid/alternativas-de-resistencia-maya-en-tiempo-de-pandemia/

 

Updated 09/29/2021:

• NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS,  July 17^th 2020. “Hearing on COVID-19 in Indian Country: The Impact of Federal Broken Promises on Native Americans”. NCAI’s president, Fawn Sharp, testifies during the Commission on Civil Rights to the federal gouvernement of the United States’ failure to adequately responde to the pandemic in Indian Country. Web link: https://www.ncai.org/attachments/Testimonial_DZsioKxiANtlqzyGvRcGDaWpLsbZjlzhnmJpREpHubPVEyMOlYO_NCAI-Written-Testimony-USCCR%207_17_20-Hearing.pdf

 

• THE NEW YORK TIMES, January 12^th 2021. “Tribal Elders Are Dying From the Pandemic, Causing a Cultural Crisis for American Indians”. This article reports on the pandemic’s catastrophic impact on tribal elders from different Native American tribes in the United States, as well as on the cultural crisis caused by these losses. Web link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us/tribal-elders-native-americans-coronavirus.html

 

• JODI ARCHAMBAULT, January 24^th 2021. “How Covid-19 Threatens Native Languages” looks into the dangers faced by Native American tribes of the United States if their elders don’t receive adequate protection from the pandemic. Web link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/opinion/covid-lakota-language.html

 

• THE RED NATION, March 24^th 2021. “Coronavirus in Indian Country w/ Dean Seneca” is an episode from the Red Nation podcast, hosted by Nick Estes, who invited Dean Seneca, an epidemiologist from the Seneca Nation, to talk about the pandemic in Indian Country. Web link: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/therednation/id/13679903

 

• THE RED NATION, 26 avril 2021. “COVID-19 in Indian Country w/ Chief Jerry Daniels, Destiny Morris, & Janene Yazzie” is an episode from the Red Nation podcast, hosted by Nick Estes, about the Native American reponse to Covid-19. This episode is a recording from a series of webinars, #FridayNightForums, organized by the Arab Resource & Organizing Center and the Center for Political Education. Web link: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/therednation/id/14143568

 

• INDIGENOUS INVESTIGATIVE COLLECTIVE, June 8^th 2021. “Broken system can’t keep track of Native deaths” shows it is impossible to know the pandemic’s impact on Indian Country in the United States, owing to a legal and administrative imbroglio which leads to inacurate numbers. Web link: https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/broken-system-cant-keep-track-of-native-deaths

 

• Núcleo de Estudos da Amazônia Indígena, 2020. This page displays a series of testimonies and reflections by Indigenous students from Brazilian Amazon about the Covid-19 pandemic. Web link: https://www.neai.ufam.edu.br/mapa-da-pandemia-local/94-reflexoes-ameri.html

 

• Núcleo de Estudos da Amazônia Indígena, 2020. Audio testimonies by Indigenous students from the Federal University of Amazonas (Brazil). Web link: https://www.neai.ufam.edu.br/mapa-da-pandemia-local/95-sobrevivendo-na-pandemia-relatos-indigenas-sobre-a-situacao-do-covid-19-no-amazonas.html

 

• Braulina Aurora (Braulina Baniwa), June 18^th 2020. Baniwa anthropologist’s reflections on Covid-19. Web link: https://walimanai.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/memoria-e-saudades-baniwa/?fbclid=IwAR1EcBq32VzqVsIsUQ-LSziGQHPehB5R3wBT5WjlLph_QdgALDLYTJiCGYA

 

• Gersem dos Santos Luciano (Gersem Baniwa), July 5^th 2020. Baniwa anthropologist’s reflections on Covid-19. Web link: https://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/como-pesquisadores-precisamos-ter-a-humildade-de-assumir-que-nos-deparamos-com-os-limites-da-tecnica-e-da-ciencia/

 

• André Fernando (André Baniwa), May 29^th 2021. Interview with a Baniwa leader about President  Jair Bolsonaro’s visit to São Gabriel da Cachoeira (Amazonas, Brésil) during the pandemic. Web link: https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2021/05/29/bolsonaro-e-pessoa-sem-valor-diz-lideranca-do-amazonas-apos-visita-do-presidente

Based mainly on press articles, this section groups publications reporting curative strategies implemented by some Amerindian groups to combat covid-19.

 

• La Voz Ucayalina, February 3, 2021, article from the Ucayali online newspaper on the support given by anthropology students of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) to the Shibido care group, the Comando Matico of the city of Pucallpa (Ucayali region). https://www.lavozucayalina.pe/post/organizan-rifa-para-adquirir-furg%C3%B3n-que-atender%C3%A1-emergencias?fbclid=IwAR3e0hWrBq48mltg_-obBr30276c9o8wg3ecf2inyk6tp7gtrZrCB5Xbezg

 

• La Mula, articles by anthropologist Luisa Elvira Belaunde on the creation of a Shipibo-Conibo health group called Comando Mantico, in the city of Pucallpa (Ucayali region).

• 19 May 2020: https://luisabelaunde.lamula.pe/2020/05/19/matico-y-quina-plantas-del-bosque-socorren-a-la-ciudad/luisabelaunde/
• 27 May 2020: https://luisabelaunde.lamula.pe/2020/05/27/matico-descongestiona-trabas-burocraticas-en-la-diresa-ucayali/luisabelaunde/
• 09 June 2020: https://luisabelaunde.lamula.pe/2020/06/09/creacion-de-comando-covid-indigena-en-loreto/luisabelaunde/
• 09 August 2020: https://luisabelaunde.lamula.pe/2020/08/09/comando-matico-en-pucallpa-desafia-la-interculturalidad-inerte-del-estado/luisabelaunde/

 

• Ojo publico, April 15, 2020. Article by Peruvian anthropologist Rodrigo Lazo on the creation of Amerindian health groups to combat Coronavirus. https://ojo-publico.com/1755/un-comando-intercultural-para-frenar-el-covid-19-en-la-amazonia?fbclid=IwAR3L13b4iWnmzD9wBkre94lDXpjU9iME2ZA5rnCVt_fs-dnnIEwabYMU7Qw

 

• Facebook page of the Comando Matico, which gathers Shipibo people of the Ucayali region who have set up care protocols against Covid-19. https://www.facebook.com/ComandoMatico/

 

• La Voz Ucayalina, March 21, 2021. Article on the requisition of classrooms by a Shipibo teacher to treat Amerindian patients suffering from Covid-19. https://www.lavozucayalina.pe/post/mery-fasabi-docente-que-cambi%C3%B3-las-aulas-por-la-atenci%C3%B3n-de-pacientes-con-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR0C0Q_hyzPA5Uskv9Yls3DdYeIonqzbiE07DtSVfqR2gLCDrzmguuuXJ5o

 

• You Tube Channel on the usage of medicinal plants by the Paiter Surui of Rondonia. https://fr.paiter-surui.com/post/canal-no-youtube-sobre-plantas-medicinais-do-povo-paiter-suru%C3%AD

 

• Opinion, February 21, 2021. Article from the Bolivian newspaper Opinion on three Bolivian Amerindian groups (Charazani, Raqaypampa y Charagua) on the isolation techniques and the pharmacopeia used to combat Coronavirus. https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/revista-asi/medicina-natural-aislamiento-receta-indigena-sobrevivir-coronavirus/20210219234826808545.html?fbclid=IwAR3S4O3VwK7FtLPNilPRQat48NEtyvX2xxPbvsdvifEaGlLenNG2KZXBylg

 

Updated 09/29/2021:

The videos gathered below (from foreign and Bolivial media) document the use of medicinal plants (mainly eucalyptus, camomile and wira wira) in the Bolivian Andes.

 

• CAST – Video about local and Western medicine’s complementary relationship – Associated Press (USA press agency) –  29/01/21 – 1m24 Bolivia impulsa la medicina tradicional contra COVID-19 – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMiCZhdyUo

 

• CAST – Short documentary film about the use of plants against Covid 19 (eucalyptus, camolile, wira wira) – DW-TV (German public television) – 18/01/21 – 3m39 Los límites de la medicina tradicional https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3FFc1IzylQ

 

• CAST – Video about medicinal plants (eucalypthis, camomile) – France 24 – 31/08/20 – 1m54 Las plantas medicinales, aliadas de los bolivianos en la pandemia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrdanKBRH7Q

 

• CAST – Documentary video about the use of eucalyptus, camomile and wira wira against Covid 19 – Testigo Directo, Bernabé Lopez, 24/04/20 – 6m07 https://www.bernabelopez.com/eucalipto-wira-wira-manzanilla-segun-yerbateras-la-triada-de-plantas-para-combatir-el-covid-19/

 

• CAST – Article about the use of eucalyptus, camomile and wira wira against Covid 19 – El Universo (Ecuateur) – 23/04/20 https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/04/23/nota/7821606/eucalipto-wira-wira-manzanilla-se-previene-covid-19-bolivia/

 

• CAST – Documentary video about preventive measures against Covid 19 (eucalyptus, camomile, wira wira ) – AFP – 17/04/20 – 2m21 Bolivianos buscan atajar el coronavirus con plantas medicinales ancestrales | AFP – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89WPgUJeCJ0

 

• US NEWS, October 8^th 2020. “A Native American Clinic Gives Doses of Cultural Healing During COVID-19” is about the role elders from tribal communities living in Minneapolis in Minnesota have played in Covid 19 patients’ recovery. Web link: https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2020-10-08/minneapolis-medical-clinic-embraces-native-american-cultural-healing-during-coronavirus

This section provides information about the daily lives of Amerindians established in urban centers, in the context of the sanitary crisis.

 

• La Mula, May 11, 2020. Article by Luisa Elvira Belaunde on the impacts of Covid-19 on the Shipibo community of Cantagallo, Lima. https://luisabelaunde.lamula.pe/2020/05/11/cantagallo-un-refugio-shipibo-konibo-asediado-por-el-coronavirus/luisabelaunde/

 

• Ojo publico, December 14, 2020. Article recounting the difficulties of Amerindian students established in Lima. The pandemic has strongly impacted their schooling, leading to high dropout rates. https://ojo-publico.com/2330/beca-18-el-43-de-indigenas-no-logra-concluir-estudios

 

• Ojo publico, May 20, 2020. The article evokes the impressive infection rates as well as the extremely harsh living conditions in the Amerindian community of Cantagallo, in Lima. https://ojo-publico.com/1821/voces-desde-el-bloqueo-el-encierro-shipibo-en-cantagallo

 

Updated 09/29/2021:

• Amazônia Real, April 16^th 2020. Article by journalist Elaíze Farias about the invisibilization of Native Americans living in cities from the epidemiological statistics in Brazilian state of Amazonas. Web link: https://amazoniareal.com.br/coronavirus-indigenas-que-vivem-na-cidade-sao-classificados-como-brancos-no-amazonas/

 

This section looks back at the territorial and social pressures induced by the sudden resurgence of extractive and economic activities in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (oil and mineral extraction, gold mining, logging, drug trafficking, etc.).

 

• DAR, March 31, 2021. This note shows the concerns of several Amerindian federations of the Peruvian Amazon in the face of the extractive industries which, by lack of sanitary protocols, contribute to the transmission of the Coronavirus on the indigenous territories. https://dar.org.pe/reactivacion-economica-en-marcha-exige-priorizar-un-enfoque-sostenible-y-de-participacion-de-las-comunidades-indigenas/

 

• DAR, April 24, 2020. The text evokes the conditions of the recovery of the economic activities in Peru, and is concerned about a stated desire from the government to lighten several environmental norms deemed restrictive. https://dar.org.pe/infraestructuraparalavida-i-condiciones-y-oportunidades-para-incentivos-y-sanciones-ambientales-en-proyectos-de-transportes/  

 

• DAR, May 13, 2020. This note goes into detail about Decree 1500, which in May 2020 announced the restart of hydrocarbon extraction in the Peruvian Amazon. Among other things, some of the rules for citizen consultation were changed. https://dar.org.pe/no-se-incluye-voz-y-voto-del-ministerio-de-salud-para-la-reactivacion-de-proyectos-de-inversion/

 

• Ojo publico, March 13, 2021. The article deals with the assassinations of Amerindian leaders that have multiplied in the Peruvian Amazon since the start of the pandemic. https://ojo-publico.com/2558/amazonia-denuncian-asesinato-de-lideresa-ashaninka-en-junin

 

• Ojo Publico, September 16, 2020. This three-part investigation looks at the territorial threats to Amerindian communities, which have been reinforced by the pandemic. https://ojo-publico.com/2104/defender-sin-miedo-proteger-los-bosques-durante-la-pandemia

 

• Daliri Oropeza, “El Tren Maya y la resistencia en tiempos de pandemia”, May 31, 2020. In this journalistic account, Daliri Oropeza describes the main effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the seaside towns and indigenous territories of the Yucatán Peninsula. Amerindian villages have closed their doors to foreigners, hotels have laid off thousands of Mayan workers, and the national government’s flagship infrastructure project continues despite health restrictions. https://piedepagina.mx/el-tren-maya-y-la-resistencia-en-tiempos-de-pandemia/

 

Updated 07/12/2021:

• CHASE IRON EYES, May 7 2020. “El COVID-19 y la crisis climática son amenazas entrelazadas para los nativos americanos y la Tierra”. Lakota civil rights activist Chase Iron Eyes highlights the close links between the health crisis and the environmental crisis rocking the planet. Access on the web: https://www.ehn.org/coronavirus-native-americans-2645923635/leaders-oblivious-to-science-and-indigenous-wisdom

 

• NICK ESTES & KIM TALLBEAR, 3 de junio de 2020. “Resistencia indígena contra los oleoductos durante una pandemia” is a virtual conference by two indigenous academics who discuss lessons from past indigenous activist movements to fight oil extraction during the pandemic. Access on the web: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/168-indigenous-resistance-against-oil-pipelines-during-a-pandemic 

 

Updated 08/10/2021:

• Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America, (PDF file) SALSA Statement Condemning Brazil’s Proposed Law #490/2007

 

Updated 09/29/2021:

• CHASE IRON EYES, May 7^th 2020. “COVID-19 and the climate crisis are intertwined threats to Native Americans and the Earth”. Chase Iron Eyes, Lakota activist for civil rights underscores the close links between the sanitary and the environmental crisis that affects the world. Web link: https://www.ehn.org/coronavirus-native-americans-2645923635/leaders-oblivious-to-science-and-indigenous-wisdom

 

• NICK ESTES & KIM TALLBEAR, June 3^rd 2020. “Indigenous Resistance Against Oil Pipelines During a Pandemic” is an online conference where two Native American researchers discuss lessons to be learned from passed Native American military movements against oil extraction during a pandemic. Web link: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/168-indigenous-resistance-against-oil-pipelines-during-a-pandemic

 

• Instituto Socioambiental, September 9^th 2020. Article by an indigenist and ecologist NGO about the use of traditional medecin by Native American women from the Upper Rio Negro (Brazilian Amazon) to cope with Covid-19 pandemic. Web link: https://www.socioambiental.org/pt-br/noticias-socioambientais/mulheres-indigenas-do-rio-negro-compartilham-conhecimentos-de-remedios-tradicionais-contra-a-covid-19

This section provides information on the increase in the number of proselytizing activities carried out among Amerindians in the context of the health crisis.

• Carta capital, April 15, 2020. Article by Felipe Milanez on the attempts of missionaries from the New Tribe Mission to enter the indigenous territories of Brasil in the wake of the pandemic. https://www.cartacapital.com.br/sociedade/indigenas-vao-a-justica-contra-missionarios-na-amazonia-para-impedir-genocidio/

• Mongabay, April 4, 2020. The story is about an evangelical pastor’s attempt to enter into contact with uncontacted indigenous people in Brazil. https://es.mongabay.com/2020/04/brasil-pastor-evangelico-pueblos-indigenas-coronavirus/

 

Series of reports on anti-vaccine campaigns led by evangelical missionaries. In these investigations, we discover that some actors of the protestant proselytizing movement spread false information about vaccines to convince Amerindians to reject them.

• BBC News, March 22, 2021: https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-56433811
• Epoca Globo, January 29, 2021: https://epoca.globo.com/brasil/pastores-afastam-indigenas-da-vacinacao-relatam-liderancas-24860509
• Amazonia Real, January 05,2021: https://amazoniareal.com.br/caos-na-pandemia-indigenas-viram-alvo-de-fake-news-antivacina/
• Acritica, February 11, 2021: https://www.acritica.com/channels/coronavirus/news/pastores-invadem-aldeias-com-mitos-e-atrapalham-vacinacao-de-indigenas-no-am

This section focuses on populations in “voluntary isolation” in the context of the pandemic. Because of their long-standing isolation, these groups remain extremely vulnerable to infectious and viral diseases.

 

• SERVINDI, May 30, 2020. Interview with Peruvian anthropologist Beatríz Huertas Castillo on the legal reforms aimed at amending the intangibility of territorial reserves housing populations in “voluntary isolation” and “initial contact” (Pueblos Indígenas en Aislamiento Voluntario y Contacto Inicial – PIACI). https://www.servindi.org/actualidad-entrevistas/29/05/2020/beatriz-huertas-la-reivindicacion-de-la-intangibilidad-busca

• CHACRUNA, March 24, 2020. Article by anthropologist Glenn Shepard on “voluntary isolation in the age of Coronavirus”. https://chacruna.net/voluntary-isolation-in-the-age-of-coronavirus/

• La Mula, May 18, 2020. Article by the anthropologist Luis Felipe Lopez on the risks incurred by the populations in “voluntary isolation” in the region of Madre de Dios (Peru), and on the measures that the State would be susceptible to adopt to reinforce their protection against the Coronavirus. https://inkenishiku.lamula.pe/2020/05/18/estrategias-indigenas-y-politicas-publicas-durante-la-pandemia-del-covid-19-en-la-amazonia-peruana-el-caso-de-madre-de-dios/lufelipeis/

This section refers to various reports that focus on photography. The works mentioned illustrate in particular the therapeutic practices of the Shipibo-Konibo population of the Peruvian Amazon.

• Ojo Publico

• July 14, 2020: https://ojo-publico.com/1955/los-shipibo-konibo-se-refugian-en-las-plantas
• February 2, 2021: https://ojo-publico.com/especiales/dialogoconlasplantas/

• El país, March 21, 2021: https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2021-03-22/el-pueblo-que-habla-con-las-plantas.html?fbclid=IwAR0UxZS_ZXDVu0afNcgAr0rgmV3hNHV9tSCeDXVEIcPJD-sGf58YLZ1M-H0

• El país, March 21, 2021, interactive portfolio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nboo3CyAhzI&ab_channel=ElPa%C3%ADs

• Peruvian Ministry of health (MINSA). Overview of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the Peruvian Amazon by ethnic group. Figures frequently updated. https://www.dge.gob.pe/portalnuevo/informacion-publica/sala-de-poblacion-indigena-con-covid-19/

 

Updated 09/29/2021:

• AYM – Video about the vaccination campaign in La Paz (interval between doses, common side effects, campaign’s promotion on a national scale) – SEDES (Servicio Departamental de Salud) – 23/03/21 – 1m22 SEDES La Paz en aymara: La vacuna contra el COVID19 es segura, gratuita, voluntaria y equitativa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffFffyCcomU