Embedding Diversity for a Flourishing Future

With Moisés Piyãko, Shãtsi Piyãko, Juliana Kerexu Mirim, Arnildo Werá, Angela Mendes and Claudelice da Silva Santos.

Last week in Soho, something rare and beautiful happened.

A room full of people came together not to debate, not to defend, but to listen. To open. To receive the wisdom of Indigenous leaders and land defenders from across the Amazon Basin and Atlantic Forest. To be changed by their stories. To remember what’s possible when we slow down and truly hear one another.

Embedding Diversity for a Flourishing Future

This gathering, Embedding Diversity for a Flourishing Future, was inspired by the Flourishing Diversity series of 2019 and hosted by Earthed. 

Juliana Kerexu Mirim: A Call to Urgent Solidarity

Juliana Kerexu Mirim, Mbya Guarani leader and Executive Coordinator of the Guarani Yvyrupa Commission, opened with a truth many in the room could feel before she even spoke it: “We are running out of time. We don’t have time to doubt. We need to fight together, or we will see the end of Mother Earth.”

She described a vision her people have held for millennia: Yvy Marã Ey, a land without evil. It’s not utopia. It’s memory. It’s the original way—a place of shared well-being, mutual respect, and love for all that lives.

Shãtsi Piyãko: Resistance Through Listening

From the Asháninka territory of the Amônia River, artist and cultural knowledge-holder Shãtsi Piyãko offered another powerful reminder: “We came across the ocean not just to share our pain, but to share our way of being. Our biggest weapon has always been listening. Looking. Dialogue. That is how we resist.”

Redefining Resistance as Rootedness and Care

So many of the voices that night spoke to resistance not as rage, but as rootedness. As care. As a collective insistence on joy. As a commitment to protect what we love—no matter the cost.

Claudelice da Silva Santos: From Grief to Action

Claudelice da Silva Santos, whose brother and sister-in-law were murdered for defending their forest home, shared how that grief was transformed into action. “We created the Instituto Zé Claudio e Maria to honor their memory,” she said. “Because the forest is not protected by laws—it’s protected by those who love it enough to stay.”

Angela Mendes: Survival as Resistance

Angela Mendes, daughter of legendary forest defender Chico Mendes, echoed this spirit of resilience. “Despite everything, we survived,” she said. “And survival is a form of resistance. We are carrying on because we are not alone.”

Moisés Piyãko: Restoring the Earth Through Spirit

Stories folding into songs, testimonies into tears, grief into grounding. Moisés Piyãko, spiritual leader of the Asháninka people, spoke of his grandfather’s words: “To restore the Earth, we must first restore our minds, our spirits, our ways of seeing.” He reminded us: “Nature is silent—but it speaks through conscience. It’s time we learn to listen.”

Global Solidarity and Indigenous Wisdom for Climate Justice

From the Atlantic Forest to the Amazon, from Soho to Acre, from seeds to systems, one message rang clear: we are all in this together. The path forward is not paved with extraction or domination, but with affection, humility, and courage.

As Arnaldo Werá of the Mbya Guarani people said, “Indigenous love is not just between a man and a woman. It is the breath we take. It’s how we hunt, how we plant, how we pray.”

This kind of gathering is a (re)membering. A reminder that transformation doesn’t start with governments or corporations. It starts in rooms like these. With stories. With silence. With truth.

If you are able to support the Guarani, Asháninka, Claudelice, or Angela in their ongoing work, please get in touch. These leaders are holding the frontlines of climate justice, and they do not walk alone.

Huge thanks to Synchronicity Earth, Vivobarefoot, and the Roddick Foundation for making the evening possible, and to Hot Poets, Liv and Chris, for the perfect closing gift—an unforgettable poetic reflection on all that was shared. With love and deep gratitude also to Nessie Reid, Global Diversity Foundation, Flourishing Diversity, Grace Iara Souza, Gaia Foundation, Dr Jerome Lewis, Livia King, Jo Little, and Carolina Comandulli.

Watch the full panel discussion here:

Shanley Mitchell

Shanley Mitchell

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