Presentation short abstract

Focusing on a Peruvian Amazon community, this presentation examines how Indigenous Peoples’ local decisions challenge dominant global narratives of environmental stewardship. It reflects on moralized binaries, local pressures, and the intersections of Indigeneity and environmental justice.

Presentation long abstract

In recent decades, the visibility and participation of Indigenous Peoples in global environmental forums have grown significantly, reflecting the recognition of their role as exemplary stewards of the ecosystems within their territories. However, this celebrated status can become exclusionary as access to environmental platforms can depend on conforming to this narrative that present all Indigenous actors as protectors of nature. A growing body of academic literature has documented cases in which Indigenous communities challenge these expectations, engaging in environmentally harmful activities that complicate dominant representations.

This presentation will offer preliminary insights from my ongoing doctoral research with an Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon whose members—formerly mobilized against large-scale oil palm expansion— have recently started a partnership with the company responsible for deforesting 13,000 hectares of their ancestral territory. Their shift has resulted in political marginalization within the Indigenous organizational structure and has compelled them to establish an autonomous movement in response. Rather than reproducing analytical frames that position Indigenous peoples only as victims of structural conditions, this research explores the heterogeneous motivations, pressures, and aspirations informing the community’s contentious stance.

By examining the various social, economic and political pressures influencing community choice, the study discusses moralized binaries that separate “good” stewards from “failed” Indigenous subjects. Ultimately, the presentation reflects on how these stories—and their silences—invite a critical rethinking of Indigeneity, environmental justice, and power within the Indigenous political system, illuminating the complex political ecologies that arise when global expectations collide with local realities.