Jackie Bonasia
Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan became the leader of the Aguaruna people of Peru. He has devoted his entire life to educating the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin so that they may maintain their human, civil, economic, and political rights. He describes how, “The forest is not a resource for us, it is the only place for us to live.”
In 1977, Ikanan was one of the founders of the Aguaruna and Huambisa Council (CAH). The council represented 45,000 inhabitants of 140 communities in the tropical forest region, and became one of the most useful indigenous rights organizations in South America (rightlivelihoodaward.org). The CAH primarily developed alternative methods to protect indigenous land, human development, health care and education.
In 1981, Nugkuag founded and became president of the Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP). AIDESEP were concerned with similar issues of the CAH, but its national status elevated the platform of indigenous communities.
In 1984, AIDESEP introduced the collaboration of leaders around South America, namely Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador. This meeting gave birth to the Coordination Group of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), with Nugkuag as its leader. Currently, COICA has joined forces with additional members in Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana. The group represents most indigenous people in the nine Amazonian countries.