Articles by Astrid Arellano

Astrid Arellano is a Mexican journalist focused on investigative and narrative journalism. She writes about Indigenous peoples, the environment and human rights. Her reporting also focuses on victims of violence and kidnappings in Sonora, in northwestern Mexico, where she was born and currently lives. She won the 2019 National Journalism Award in Reporting and, in 2021, joined the Mongabay Latam team to cover Indigenous peoples and the environment. Follow her on Twitter: @astridarellanoo

‘We have advanced, but with much pain’: Q&A with Indigenous leader José Gregorio Díaz Mirabal

by Astrid Arellano 8 July 2022

The Atabapo River, its waters black and flanked by rainforest and mountains, used to be part of an Indigenous territory some 200 years ago, says José Gregorio Díaz Mirabal. Today,…

Portrait of Sarayaku Warmikuna, member of Mujeres Amazónicas (Amazonian Women). The women of the community were the first to be part of the collective known as Amazonian Women. Image courtesy of Esteffany Bravo.

A look at violence and conflict over Indigenous lands in nine Latin American countries

by Astrid Arellano, Yvette Sierra Praeli 31 May 2022

For years, Ruth Alipaz has been fighting against the Chepete-El Bala hydroelectric project. The project involves the construction of two reservoirs that together would flood at least 66,200 hectares (163,500…

“Indigenous people are fighting to protect a natural equilibrium”: Q&A with Patricia Gualinga

by Astrid Arellano 6 May 2022

Patricia Gualinga takes a deep breath and pictures herself inside the rainforest in Sarayaku, Ecuador. “It’s hard to describe the smell of such pure air when you’re in the rainforest”,…

Indigenous Comcáac turtle group saves sea turtles in Mexico’s Gulf of California

by Astrid Arellano 17 February 2022

Mayra Estrella’s father always spoke to her about sea turtles. Growing up, she remembers hearing stories linking a pair of turtles to the very existence of the Comcáac people, the…

Tukupu: The women of the Kariña community, guardians of Venezuela’s forests

by Astrid Arellano 2 February 2022

Cecilia Rivas remembers Tukupu as a place to live freely. The dwellings of the Indigenous Kariña community, spread out under the shade of the trees in the Imataca Forest Reserve,…