Rukka is the first female Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN)—the world’s largest Indigenous Peoples organization. Rukka is a Torajan from the highlands of Sulawesi, a starfish-shaped island the size of Florida. Her people have gained notoriety for their elaborate funeral rituals and the way they have built a local tourism industry while preserving their cultural identity. She is known for her fiery oratory and her longtime dedication to the indigenous rights movement. Her parents hosted a meeting in 1993 that is often cited as its genesis in Indonesia. Rukka completed her bachelor degree from the Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University and her Master degree in Political Science the University of Chulalongkorn, Thailand.

Executive Commission member for the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) and President of the Mexican Network of Forest Peasant Organizations. Member of the Board of Directors of the Resources and Rights Initiative (RRI); Member of the Advisory Council of The International Land and Forest Tenure Facility; Principal Observer for the Civil Society of Latin America and the Caribbean in the UN REDD Program; Official Civil Society Observer for the Latin American and Caribbean region at the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF); Coordinator of the Technical Committee on Forests and Climate Change of CONAF; Member of the Mexican Forest Fund (FFM).

Tuntiak Katan was born in the Tuutinentsa Shuar community, Morona Santiago Province, in the Amazonian region of Ecuador. Since 2000, he has worked on social, cultural and environmental projects among the different cultures in the Amazon Basin. Currently, he is vice-coordinator of COICA and former general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.

João Víctor Gomes de Oliveira, 24 years old, indigenous of the Pankararu people – located in the northeast of Brazil, a very unequal region with semi-arid climate; youth leader and currently youth coordinator of the Global Youth Alliance of Traditional Communities by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – APIB. Environmental, social and political activist since the age of 16. He has fought for territorial rights for his people by engaging in debates and discussions at regional and national level. Graduating in Pharmacy from the Federal University of Sergipe, scientific researcher; research related to ethnopharmacology; cultural producer in the lines of indigenous youth, audiovisual and book production.

Mina Susana Setra is an indigenous woman leader (Dayak Pompakng) from West Kalimantan, Indonesia. She is currently the Deputy to Secretary General of AMAN on Social Culture Affairs. AMAN (Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago – Indonesia) has 2,373 indigenous communities as active members. For 18 years, Ms. Setra has worked on indigenous issues locally, nationally and internationally. During her time as Deputy on Advocacy, Law and Political Affairs, AMAN won the Constitutional Court Ruling No.35/2012 on Customary Forests as not state-forest. AMAN has also produced preliminary draft on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights for the National Congress or now abbreviated to the RUU Masyarakat Adat.

Of Tuxá origin, an indigenous people who live in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco and Minas Gerais, Dinamam Tuxá is coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) and lawyer of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of the Northeast, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (Apoinme). He also holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Brasilia and a PhD in Law from the same university.

Gregorio Mirabal is a Kurripako Indigenous leader from Venezuela, linked to the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon (ORPIA). He has dedicated his leadership career to the defense of the rights of indigenous peoples and is a founding member of the PUAMA indigenous movement. Currently, he serves as General Coordinator of the COICA.