“We reject national government money because governments are the main violators of tribal peoples' rights. We will not accept funds from corporations which might also violate tribal peoples' rights. We value our integrity too much to be influenced by their priorities.”

This is from the FAQ page of an interesting organization called Survival International. They advocate for the rights of Indigenous, tribal, and uncontacted peoples from threats like racism, land theft, forced development, genocide, and environmental destruction.

This morning I read about the threats faced by the The Mashco Piro - a traditionally isolated hunter-gatherer community being pushed out of their lands by a logging company.

“Uncontacted Indigenous peoples around the world are experiencing the invasion of their lands on a shocking scale. Countless uncontacted peoples in the Amazon are being invaded by loggers and gold-miners. The uncontacted Shompen of Great Nicobar Island, not far from North Sentinel, will be wiped out if India goes ahead with its plan to transform their island into “the Hong Kong of India.” The common factor in all these cases is governments’ refusal to abide by international law and recognize and protect uncontacted peoples’ territories.”

I believe we have a responsibility to protect the powerless and to respect the requests of communities that do not wish to be contacted. I’m curious about the ethical standpoint of the #bitcoin and #nostr community. Crazy to think that BTC could potentially be used to help a group of people who might not even have an understanding of electricity.