Norway's state-owned energy giant Statkraft is racing to drown one of the most sacred Indigenous sites in Chile so it can build a mega-dam. The flooding could begin at any moment. Indigenous leader machi Millaray Huichalaf already got Statkraft to retreat once before. Now she's taking her people's fight to Norway, and she needs the world behind her. Global pressure could help her win again. Stand with her before this sacred place disappears beneath the water forever. Norway's state-owned energy giant is racing to drown the sacred heart of the Mapuche indigenous people. The flooding could begin at any moment. For machi Millaray Huichalaf, one of the Mapuche's most respected spiritual leaders, the Pilmaiquén isn't just a river. It is part of the sacred landscape where she serves her community, and where generations of her people have honoured their ancestors. Millaray and the Mapuche Williche have fought this project for years, and they've already achieved what many thought impossible, forcing Statkraft to abandon an earlier dam and return stolen ancestral land. Now they've taken their fight directly to Norway, filing a legal complaint that challenges the Norwegian government to live up to its own human rights commitments. Because Statkraft is wholly government-owned, public pressure on Norway's leaders could still make going ahead too politically costly to ignore. If thousands of us stand with the machi Millaray today, we can help stop the flooding before the damage becomes irreversible. Sign now!
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Norway's state-owned energy giant Statkraft is racing to drown one of the most sacred Indigenous sites in Chile so it can build a mega-dam. The flooding could begin at any moment. Indigenous leader machi Millaray Huichalaf already got Statkraft to retreat once before. Now she's taking her people's fight to Norway, and she needs the world behind her. Global pressure could help her win again. Stand with her before this sacred place disappears beneath the water forever.
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Dear friends,
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Norway's state-owned energy giant is racing to drown the sacred heart of the Mapuche indigenous people. The flooding could begin at any moment.
For machi Millaray Huichalaf, one of the Mapuche's most respected spiritual leaders, the Pilmaiquén isn't just a river. It is part of the sacred landscape where she serves her community, and where generations of her people have honoured their ancestors.
Millaray and the Mapuche Williche have fought this project for years, and they've already achieved what many thought impossible, forcing Statkraft to abandon an earlier dam and return stolen ancestral land.
Now they've taken their fight directly to Norway, filing a legal complaint that challenges the Norwegian government to live up to its own human rights commitments.
Because Statkraft is wholly government-owned, public pressure on Norway's leaders could still make going ahead too politically costly to ignore. If thousands of us stand with the machi Millaray today, we can help stop the flooding before the damage becomes irreversible. Sign now!
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For generations, Mapuche Williche families have gathered along the Pilmaiquén River to honour their ancestors, collect medicinal plants and hold ceremonies. That history, that connection, can’t simply be moved somewhere else.
If the reservoir is filled, one of their most sacred places will disappear beneath the water forever. Widespread media reports indicate that Indigenous leaders opposing the project have faced criminalisation, harassment and violence from the Chilean army and the local police.
But there is still a real chance to stop the flooding. Statkraft is racing to fill the reservoir within a narrow construction window. If enough of us act now, we can help delay the flooding, buying precious time while the Mapuche's legal challenge moves through Norway's institutions. Together, public pressure and the legal case can raise the political and reputational cost of allowing the flooding to go ahead.
Norway has built a global reputation as a defender of human rights and Indigenous Peoples. Yet it wholly owns Statkraft, the company preparing to drown one of Chile's Indigenous Mapuche Williche people's most sacred places.
Add your name now, and we'll deliver our voices directly to Norwegian decision-makers, helping raise the political cost of allowing the flooding to go ahead.
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Renewable energy cannot come at the cost of Indigenous peoples, sacred lands and human rights. By standing with the Mapuche Williche, we are defending a simple principle: no project is green if it destroys the living heritage of a people.
With hope and determination,
Miguel, Lily, Pascal, Nate, Mo and the Avaaz team
Image credit: Pablo E. Piovano
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