“We see the natural world as a living being with rights. The rights of the natural world—of the air, the water, the moon, the stars—always take precedence.”
Mamo Amado Villafaña (ah-mah-dough vee-yah-fahn-yah)
Arhuaco spiritual leader
IMAGE SOURCE: Stephen Ferry. “Indigenous protectors of these sacred peaks have kept others out—until now.” National Geographic. 27 Nov. 2019. | QUOTE SOURCE: Gena Steffens. “Indigenous protectors of these sacred peaks have kept others out—until now.” National Geographic. 27 Nov. 2019.
QUOTE CONTEXT: “Respecting these rights is what allows us to exist alongside everything else on the planet. For us, human beings are secondary—we have a very clear understanding that humans come, we spend a bit of time here, and then we leave. The natural world must prevail.”
QUOTE QUESTION: In what ways do you recognize the natural world exercising its rights?
IMAGE CONTEXT: From left to right: Amado Villafaña, Diego Chaparro, and Eulogio Villafaña pause at a homestead several miles below Meywaka, the highest Arhuaco village in the Sierra Nevada
IMAGE QUESTION: Who are your companions as you engage with the natural world?
MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote and the photo are from an article in National Geographic magazine.
MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the publication of an article about your people in a widely read international magazine?
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