Message from the peoples of the Sierra
“We are not just asking you to help us reclaim our land; no, above all we are asking you to help us protect what you call nature—living beings, animals, plants, trees, but also stones.”
“If we are the big brothers, it is not to judge people or things, to decide whether something is right or wrong, but because we do the work here in the Sierra; we protect Nature. We do this work and we want to help you, so that you don’t feel alone out there…”
“Don’t just think about money; money is useful, of course, but also think about what is important: memory, your elders, what they knew, what they did for nature. Rediscover this knowledge, to save nature and save ourselves.”
“You may not realise it, but when you give us back land, you are not just giving us back land so that we can farm; you are also giving us back sacred places, the sites of our ancestors where we can carry out our traditional work to protect things.”