Contact us at: whispernthunder1@gmail.com“Living Through the Storm:
Why the Peoples of the Eagle and the Condor Say Genocide Still Lives”
~Joelle Clark
Across the Americas, Indigenous Peoples who
walk the paths of the Eagle (North) and the
Condor (South) speak of a prophecy, an ancient
vision of unity and spiritual resurgence. But that
path is also marked by centuries of violence,
displacement, and erasure. Today, many
Indigenous communities assert that what they
face is not just historical trauma, but a genocide
still unfolding. This is not hyperbole, it is lived experience.
A Legacy of Colonization:
The genocide of Indigenous Peoples didn’t begin or end with conquest.
- Land dispossession, forced removals, and boarding schools severed generations from language, culture, and land.
- Government policies in both the U.S. and Latin America continue to marginalize Indigenous rights.
- Treaties have been broken. Sacred sites have been desecrated. And lands once protected now bleed under extractive industries.
Environmental Violence as Cultural Violence:
For the Peoples of the Eagle and the Condor, land is more than soil—it is identity, spirit, ancestor, and future.
- Oil drilling in the Amazon, mining in sacred Andean sites, and pipelines crossing burial grounds in North America are not just environmental threats—they are attacks on the lifeblood of Indigenous cultures.
- The desecration of rivers and forests equates to the silencing of ceremony and the poisoning of kinship.
- This destruction threatens not only Indigenous life but the planetary balance.
Systemic Erasure and Modern-Day Policies:
Indigenous leaders argue that genocide continues through legal and social frameworks:
- Indigenous women and girls suffer disproportionate levels of violence and disappearances, often without justice or visibility.
- Healthcare, education, and infrastructure remain chronically underfunded.
- Languages are dying. Elders are buried without their stories passed on.
- Climate policies often exclude Indigenous science, ignoring centuries of ecological stewardship.
Spiritual and Cultural Theft:
Colonial violence is not just physical—it’s spiritual.
- Sacred practices have been outlawed, mocked, or commercialized.
- Museums house stolen funerary objects.
- Non-Indigenous entities profit from Indigenous identity while communities themselves are left out of conversations and control.
Why We Call It Genocide:
Genocide is not just mass killing. According to the UN, it includes “acts committed with intent to destroy... a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” This includes:
- Destruction of cultural infrastructure
- Prevention of births through sterilization and population control
- Forced assimilation and denial of identity
Many Indigenous thinkers and activists argue that these conditions—ongoing, structural, and intentional—fit that definition.
Voices of Resistance and Hope:
Yet amidst mourning, there is defiance. The Eagle and the Condor fly, not only to remember but to reclaim.
- Indigenous youth are reviving languages and ceremonies.
- Women are leading movements to protect land and people.
- Elders are passing on songs and prophecy to shield the next generation.
Conclusion that Indigenous People have reached:
The genocide is not a chapter—it is a shadow cast by empire. But the resilience of the Eagle and the Condor is the light that breaks it. To listen is to resist silence. To amplify is to honor. And to act is to refuse complicity.