Dear Friends and Allies,
Since the onset of the novel coronavirus, Indigenous communities across the Americas have worked diligently to protect their communities from COVID-19, while also addressing ongoing issues of extraction, colonization, Indigenous rights violations, pipeline construction, and environmental racism. As COVID-19 cases disproportionately rise in their communities, governments are providing little to no support to Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous communities are vital defenders of the living Earth, and they are standing up to protect human rights, Indigenous sovereignty, healthy communities, cultural knowledge, biodiverse ecosystems, water, forests, and our climate. This is a critical time to stand with courageous Indigenous leaders and support their calls to action.

Please join us on June 26th for the special global premiere of " Artists United for Amazonia: Protecting the Protectors," to support and benefit Indigenous communities in the Amazon through the Amazon Emergency Fund. Indigenous leaders like Sonia Guajajara, Nina Gualinga, and Angela Kaxuyana are uniting with leaders in entertainment, such as Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Sting, Morgan Freeman, and more to protect the protectors! Learn more about the event and the Amazon Emergency Fund down below.

WECAN is honored to collaborate with our partners on two emergency response funds to support Indigenous communities in North and South American who are in urgent need due to COVID-19. Please explore this newsletter to find out more about how you can contribute to Indigenous communities.
Artists United for Amazonia - Friday, June 26
The situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Amazon region is precarious and threatens the lives and well being of Indigenous and forest communities across the region.  In response, Indigenous leaders, along with allies including WECAN, formed an unprecedented coalition to launch the Amazon Emergency Fund. The fund is channeling direct support to forest guardians in the form of rapid response grants for urgent COVID-19 prevention and care in all 9 Amazon countries.

To benefit the Amazon Emergency Fund, the Artists for Amazonia coalition is hosting the World Premiere of the Protecting the Protectors livestream featuring musical performances, entertainment influencers, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and conservation advocates. 

Please join us in watching and sharing the ‘World Premiere’ of the Protecting the Protectors livestream on Friday June 26th at artistsforamazonia.org.
Protecting the lives of Indigenous peoples of the Amazon is not only a human rights issue, it is an environmental and existential one. Indigenous peoples are the best guardians of the forest, and they steward 80% of the world’s biodiversity. This is the moment when the world needs us to unite and stand with Indigenous guardians of the Amazon. 

Thank you for joining us in solidarity!
80,000 Masks Delivered to Indigenous Communities
Through collaboration with amazing partners of the Protect the Peoples Emergency (PPE) Partnership Fund, we are very honored to share that the PPE Fund has successfully donated 80,000 masks to Indigenous communities on the frontlines of COVID-19 across Turtle Island (USA).

WECAN joined our colleagues at Indigenous Environmental Network, Movement Rights, T.E.J.A.S. and others for the Protect the Peoples Emergency (PPE) Partnership Fund. The partnership has created a distribution chain to supply COVID-19 Emergency Personal Protection Equipment, masks and supplies to Native Nations’ medics and communities most in need.

The work continues with the leadership of the Indigenous Environmental Network, if you are able to, please consider contributing to the fund to ensure those on the frontlines are protected and safe: https://protectthepeoples.org/

Donations go directly to providing Native American communities and medical staff personal protection equipment (PPE) and other community needs. Every dollar raised will go to those most in need.
Sign the Petition - Stand with the Yanomami!
Stand with Indigenous Land Defenders — Please join us and share the petition!

The Yanomami community in the Brazilian Amazon is launching a global campaign to expel 20,000 gold miners from their land and protect their communities and territories from the coronavirus pandemic. It is critical to stop the invasion of miners from causing yet another tragedy.

The  #MinersOutCovidOut  campaign is an initiative launched by the Yanomami and Ye’kwana Leadership Forum, Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY), Wanasseduume Ye'kwana Association (SEDUUME), Kumirayoma Yanomami Women’s Association (AMYK) Texoli Ninam Association of Roraima State (TANER) and the Yanomami Association of the River Cauaburis and Affluents (AYRCA).
Celebrating Juneteenth
Worldwide people took action to celebrate Juneteenth, a day honoring Black freedom and Black resistance. At WECAN, we took to the streets in Virginia, Oregon, and California, joining calls to #DefundThePolice and invest in Black communities.

On June 19, Aishah Brown was on the ground for WECAN in Richmond, Virginia (USA) during Juneteenth, please take a look at the facebook livestream of the event here!
At the Juneteenth rally in Richmond, VA protesters congregate at the Robert E. Lee monument, now covered in anti-racist messages. Photo by Aishah Nyeta Brown / WECAN International
In rural Oregon, protesters reclaim a local butte used by the Klu Klux Klan for meetings in the 1920s, where they would burn crosses at the top of the butte. Photo by Katherine Quaid / WECAN International

To actualize climate justice there must be racial justice, and we are committed to the long-term work of dismantling white supremacy and building the world we know is possible. Right now is a unique moment to collectively stand in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives, For more information and to support Movement for Black Lives: https://sixnineteen.com/
Stop the Money Pipeline Webinars
Through the Stop the Money Pipeline campaign, we are collaborating with national and international organizations, including 350.org, Rainforest Action Network, Amazon Watch, Oil Change International, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth U.S., and many others to target JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Liberty Mutual, the top funders of the climate crisis, and demand they divest from the fossil fuel industry.

Stopping this money pipeline is one of the most important ways we can quickly address the climate emergency. This summer the Stop the Money Pipeline campaign will host several webinars focused on climate justice and divestment, please take a look below and we hope you can join us!

Stop the Money Pipeline Upcoming webinars:

Arts Action during a Pandemic: From Virtual to Safe Street Actions
Sat June 27th 2pm EST/11am PST -

Film Screening “The Condor and the Eagle” with panel discussion with Tara Houska, Bill McKibben, Bryan Parras, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Janet MacGillivray
Sunday July 5th 7pm EST/4pm PST

“How White Supremacy Built Wall St” with special guests “Take on Wall St” 
Thur July 9th 4pm EST/1pm PST
For the Earth and All Generations,

Women's Earth and Climate Action Network
(WECAN) International Team
S T A Y C O N N E C T E D