“Mother Earth has rights, rights that are binding us. As her children we have responsibilities to take care of her, to protect her, to respect her.“

— Miguel Chindoy, Legal representative of the Agro Pueblos Indigenous Association, Kamëntsá (Camsá), Colombia

My name is Miguel Chindoy, I belong to the Kamëntsá Kabëng Indigenous people, which translates to people united in time. I have served with the village authority for two terms, I feel the responsibility to speak to the people and the rest of society about the responsibility that all beings have for Mother Earth, she is the Mother of humanity on whom we depend for sustenance, knowledge, and our spirituality. One of the first understandings of Indigenous peoples is that Mother Earth is a living being, the Earth is a living being that feels, that has Knowledge and like every Mother sacrifices herself for us and so our ancestors understood, that as a living being Mother Earth has rights, rights that are binding us a her children we have responsibilities to take care of her, to protect her, respect her, and to guarantee a sustainability for the permanence of life.