Collective health and the common planet: the indigenous women’s call for healing the Earth

Abstract

This article reflects on what has been publicized by the Movement of Indigenous Women in Brazil, through a political pedagogy that dialogues directly with movements and struggles of a more general character and with agendas such as “good living” (Buen Vivir), degrowth, deglobalization (pointing out capitalism), as well as feminism –addressing ecofeminism and community feminism (pointing out patriarchy). Indigenous women are, therefore, in dialogue with important pillars of decolonial thought in Latin America based on race, ethnicity and gender inequalities. They are also in dialogue with the ideas of Mother Earth and ‘Land as Pedagogy’ (‘Land-based Pedagogy’) following an anti-anthropocentric movement in favor of our common home. This article is less about their particular ontological regimes (which we could call culture) and more about the political decision of which aspects of these "cultures" can be leveraged in order to build political alliances. It concerns stories about illnesses and continued pandemics, but also about the re-enchantment for life: about things we ignore as a colonial collectivity. In the words of indigenous women, it’s about indigenizing and reforesting hearts.