From Ethiopia to Peru, indigenous customs protect biodiversity on sacred lands under pressure from religious conflicts and climate change. In the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia, scientists confirm the benefits of traditional stewardship even as elders witness the decline of spiritual practices that have long protected trees, meadows and mountains. Tensions with evangelical Christians over a sacred meadow erupt into a riot. In the Peruvian Andes, the Q'eros, on a pilgrimage to a revered glacier, are driven from their ritual site by intolerant Catholics. Q'eros potato farmers face a more ominous foe: global warming is melting glaciers, their water source. Andes farmers, scientists and visiting Ethiopians struggle to adapt indigenous agriculture to the changing climate.

The other titles in the series are:

PILGRIMS AND TOURISTS In the Altai Republic of Russia and in Northern California, indigenous shamans resist massive government projects that threaten nature and culture.

PROFIT AND LOSS From Papua New Guinea to the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, native people fight the loss of land, water, and health to mining and oil industries.

ISLANDS OF SANCTUARY Aboriginal Australians and Native Hawaiians reclaim land from the government and the military, and resist the erosion of culture and environment.

57 minutes
SDH Captioning for the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing

Directed by Christopher McLeod
Writer: Jennifer Huang
Co-Producers: Jessica Abbe, Jennifer Huang
Storyteller: Q'orianka Kilcher
Editors: Marta Wohl
Videographers: Andrew Black, Christopher McLeod, Vicente Franco
Sound: David Wendlinger, Wilfredo Ilizarbe
Associate Producers: Erin Lee, Marlo McKenzie, Ashley Tindall
Composer: Tom Disher
Narrator: Graham Greene
A Presentation of Pacific Islanders in Communications and Vision Maker Media
A Production of the Sacred Land Film Project of Earth Island Institute