19-Year-Old Indigenous Climate Activist Artemisa Xakriabá: “We Fight for Mother Earth”

September 23, 2019

Friday’s climate strike in New York City concluded with remarks from indigenous leaders, activists and organizers. Artemisa Xakriabá, a 19-year-old indigenous climate activist of the Xakriabá people, spoke about the increasing intensity of environmental destruction across Brazil and the interconnectedness of the fight for climate justice. “We fight for our Mother Earth because the fight for Mother Earth is the mother of all other fights,” Xakriabá said. “We are fighting for your lives. We are fighting for our lives. We are fighting for our sacred territory. But we are being persecuted, threatened, murdered, only for protecting our own territories. We cannot accept one more drop of indigenous blood spilled.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

CLIMATE STRIKERS: People over profits! People over profits! People over profits! People over profits! Wall Street, we see your greed! Wall Street, we see your greed!

AMY GOODMAN: Voices from the Gobal Climate Strike in New York. The protest ended at Battery Park, where 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the crowd. But first, Artemisa Xakrriabá, a 19-year-old indigenous activist from Brazil, took to the stage.

Published at https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/23/brazil_indigenous_climate_activist_artemisa_xakriaba