Cultural Survivor

1 month ago | culturalsurvival.org | Brandi Morin

In the eastern shadows of Ecuador’s Andes mountains, where the dense Amazon rainforest begins its sprawl toward the horizon, the Maikuaints Shuar stand at a crossroads of survival. Their pristine territory, covering 8,500 hectares and home to 430 people, has sustained their ancestors for millennia. Today, however, it faces an existential threat from Solaris Resources, a multinational mining company based, until a few months ago, in Vancouver.

1 month ago | culturalsurvival.org | Brandi Morin

In the heart of Cuenca, in an old house filled with books on faith, revolution, and Indigenous rights, lives Father Fernando Vega, an 80-year-old priest whose spiritual guidance has become a cornerstone of the water defense movement. With his snow-white hair slicked back and a simple gray sweater hanging from his angular shoulders, he moves through rooms adorned with his own artwork — paintings and unique butterfly sculptures crafted from discarded steel beer cans found in the streets.

Mar 6, 2025 | culturalsurvival.org | Brandi Morin

Government and industry will do whatever it takes to push through mining projects, but Indigenous opposition is strong in the heart of the AndesBy Brandi Morin (Cree/Iroquois), Photos by Ian WillmsIn this series, we’ve sought to tell the stories of Indigenous Peoples standing, largely alone, against the forces of government and industry.

Mar 3, 2025 | culturalsurvival.org | Brandi Morin

Canada has finalized negotiations on a free trade deal with Ecuador, but claimed human rights protections ring hollow in light of alleged state repression. By Brandi Morin (Cree/Iroquois), Photos by Ian WillmsThe mist rolls through Las Pampas as Juan Carlos Carvajal Silva, president of the ‘collective defenders of water and life’ in this remote community, sits on a wooden stump near the hilltop church, overlooking the village he has sworn to protect.

Feb 13, 2025 | culturalsurvival.org | Brandi Morin

By Brandi Morin (Cree/Iroquois), Photos by Ian WillmsThe morning sun filters through the jungle canopy as brothers Freddy and Marcos Ankuash walk along a slope behind the ecological tourism center in Maikuaints territory. Here, deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, they’re about to engage in an ancestral Shuar ritual.