Meet the all-women Indigenous firefighting team charting a path for climate resiliency in the Brazilian Amazon
In Roraima, Brazil, an all-women Indigenous firefighting brigade is carrying forward generations of ecological knowledge to protect their land — and rewriting who gets to lead the fight.
18 must-read books by Indigenous authors to read on International Day of Indigenous Peoples and beyond (2026 update)
Every year on August 9 we celebrate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. On this day in 1982, the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations held its first meeting in Geneva where they drafted the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, asserting their rights to self determination. Over six decades later, many […]
In 2025, Brazilian Amazon fires fell to their lowest level in four decades. A “super” El Niño could unravel the progress.
After the worst fire season on record in 2024, the Brazilian Amazon caught a break in 2025 — but the reprieve may be short lived as scientists predict an approaching El Niño estimated to last through 2027.
Summer 2026 Newsletter
A Message From Our Executive Director Dear Friends and Supporters, Summertime is well underway, and this year, it has brought a sobering reminder of the accelerating climate crisis. In June, Europe saw record high temperatures, with parts of France reaching 112°F, while a massive heat dome and smoke from Canadian wildfires engulfed much of the […]
2025 Annual Impact Report
Learning to Live with Fire: Indigenous Organizations Gather in Brazil to Strengthen Climate Resilience Across the Amazon
When record-breaking fires tore through the Peruvian Amazon in 2024, affecting 22 of the country’s 24 regions, it was a wake-up call for the Ticuna community of Buen Jardín de Callaru. For generations, Peru’s Ticuna people have lived in the region’s humid lowland forests, where small, controlled fires have long been part of preparing family […]
Spring 2026 Newsletter
A Message From Our Executive Director Dear Friends and Supporters, Each spring offers a moment to reflect on our connection to the natural world and our shared responsibility to protect it. As Earth Day nears, Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) recognizes the leadership of Indigenous communities, whose knowledge and care for their lands sustain the world’s […]
Yanomami Territory Three Years After the Crisis: What Has Changed and What Leaders Still Demand
In early 2023, shortly after taking office, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a public health emergency in Yanomami territory, the largest Indigenous territory in the country. Years of illegal mining, environmental destruction, and institutional neglect under the previous administration of Jair Bolsonaro had culminated in a devastating humanitarian crisis. Images of malnourished […]
No Forests = No Future: A Call to Support Indigenous Defenders on the Frontlines
As we near the end of 2025, an urgent truth continues to drive our work: Without tropical forests, we have no future. Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) has long supported Indigenous partners across the Amazon basin and Central America’s rainforests. It has been proven time again that Indigenous peoples are the most impactful defenders of rainforests […]
Winter 2025 Newsletter: A Year In Review
A Message From Our Executive Director Dear Friends and Supporters, This year, Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) worked closely with our Indigenous partners to advance their efforts to shape how forest finance reaches communities protecting the world’s rainforests. Despite safeguarding 36% of the world’s tropical forests, Indigenous peoples and local communities receive just 1% of international […]
