Our friend Mitch Anderson at Amazon Watch travels to the Achuar territory.
For centuries the Achuar people have lived in harmony with the Amazon rainforest. But now, the unrelenting drive for oil has reached the deepest regions of their territory. Canadian oil company Talisman Energy has already cleared hundred of kilometers of seismic lines in the northern Peruvian Amazon — and is now beginning to drill exploratory wells.
This is a photo essay from a recent trip into the territory of a fierce, beautiful people defending their lands against the threat of oil development.
To find out more about the Achuar and their struggle please visit the Amazon Watch website, and keep updated about new events and how you can help on Facebook, Twitter, and by signing up to Amazon Watch’s email list.
All photos © Mitch Anderson.
Interview
13.An Achuar war dance ceremony: The Achuar inaugurate the meeting with a traditional war dance and "interview", where the visitors speak with the hosts in a ritualized, rythmic speech justifying their reasons for coming.
Mitch Anderson
Mitch has been working in the fields of journalism and human rights since graduating from UC Berkeley in 2003. Currently he is working as the Corporate Campaigns Director at the environmental and indigenous rights organization Amazon Watch. He likes fiction, old newspapers and strangers. He lives in the Mission district of San Francisco.
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