On Day 6 of the International Rebellion, the Global Justice Rebellion Site screened videos from last month’s seminar series Flourishing Diversity, which brought indigenous representatives from around the world together to share their wisdom on the environmental crisis.

One particular story stood out in the session from Moises Piyako, a member of the Ashaninka, about a time with his four-year old son at a sacred tree:

“A whiteman… arrived and went over to try shoot [a] bird, my son went towards the white man and took hold of his rifle and told him ‘Don’t shoot!’

He had no fear of what he needed to do. He knew he had to do it.”

As commented by a member of the audience, the lesson for XR within this story is essential:

Just like the child, we know what we must do. We must take hold of the gun, but we must do it out of love for the bird, not fear of the weapon.

J, King’s College London