Lisbon, Sept. 24, 2026 (Lusa) - A great alliance between peoples and governments, to defend the Amazon and the planet, was the message that the winners of the 2026 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity conveyed in the Portuguese capital, in an interview with Lusa.
«Our message to the world is that we must forge a strong alliance and be aware that we, as humanity, are causing harm to nature,» indigenous leader Hernán Payaguaje, co-founder of Alianza Ceibo – a coalition of Amazonian indigenous peoples that won the Lisbon-based Gulbenkian Foundation Prize for Humanity awarded on Wednesday – told the Lusa news agency.
«We are indigenous peoples from very distant territories; we forge strong alliances with other peoples for a common cause, which is to defend our territory,» stated Hernán, a representative of the Siekopai people.
The community leader argued for the need for greater awareness to foster strong alliances between governments and other major environmental organisations, so that they can work together with indigenous associations for the good of the people and nature.
«The issue of resource extraction is very pressing in our territories; the wealth lies beneath our lands and we must combat this threat – from the oil industry, mining, agricultural exploitation and many other sources, as well as colonisation and the invasion by people from outside our communities,» stated the Siekopai leader.
The climate crisis affecting the world, he assured, is already being felt in the territories inhabited by the Amazonian peoples represented in the Alianza Ceibo: the Siona, Siekopai, Waorani and A'i Kofan communities.
«We are already seeing signs in our territories of the biodiversity crisis affecting the world. We feel this threat and we, as indigenous peoples allied within the Alianza, are defending ourselves against it,» he said.
The peoples represented in the alliance have been fighting on various fronts, including through the courts – where they have achieved victories – to protect their territories from various external threats and to keep the culture and way of life of their communities alive, with a focus on development and education.
«In other territories we live with this threat, and even if the State or the oil company may claim that it is an activity that brings development and well-being to communities and families, that is not true. The oil company brings pollution and damage to our living environment and has an impact on community life, and that is what we do not want. We continue to defend ourselves so that this threat does not have a major impact on our territories,» he emphasised.
The grandson of a traditional healer, Hernán Payaguaje was the first member of the Siekopai people to obtain a university degree.
«I grew up with my grandfather, who passed on a great deal of knowledge to me – spirituality, our relationship with nature – and whilst I know something about the world beyond my own culture, I felt it was necessary to acquire another kind of knowledge – more external, Western – that would enable me to understand the world. «This combination of knowledge has enabled me to recognise the positive aspects of Western knowledge that I can draw on to forge a connection and then work with the communities,» he said.
«It was a very demanding, very difficult learning process, studying as a member of an indigenous community, but I always believed in myself and said: ‘If others can do it, so can I. We, as indigenous peoples, can do it; we simply haven't had the opportunity, and that is what we are also demanding – that our young people have the opportunity to access other forms of knowledge, whilst retaining our essence as indigenous peoples',» he explained.
Alongside Hernán in this interview was Alicia Salazar, from the Siona people, who was involved in setting up the first school in her community.
«In my community, there's a little school that only has the basics. So, education is also important for indigenous peoples. As my comrade said, learning about Western culture whilst also preserving our own – we need to have knowledge, including through documents, to be able to defend our territory. «This exchange helps us to preserve our identity as peoples, but also to understand one another,» she argued.
Alicia, who grew up on the banks of the Putumayo River (a tributary of the Amazon), lamented that children can no longer play in the rivers «happily and joyfully» as they once did, due to pollution caused by external factors.
«We defend life, our territory and our cultures. We will continue to defend these territories,» she assured, adding: «Without territory, we would no longer be Siona, Siekopai, A'i Kofan or Waorani.» The recognition of the work carried out through the award of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, worth €1 million, will enable initiatives in defence of indigenous peoples and the Amazon rainforest to continue, according to Alicia Salazar.
«I believe this recognition will help us to carry on with our initiatives. But really, we are here to say that we exist in these territories; this is not just a fairy tale. We want this message to reach you and for you to help us preserve not only the territories where we breathe, but also the peoples who live here,» she declared.
«We have always lived happily and joyfully, but nowadays we no longer have that peace of mind. We are here to tell the story of our lives, of how we live in these territories, and of all the threats we face, so that we can all safeguard this peaceful way of life, and so that there may be peace in other countries too,» concluded Alicia Salazar, before receiving the award.
AH/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
