(AI translated) Brooklyn Rivera Bryan was born on September 24, 1952, in the community of Li Dakwra, on Nicaragua's northern Caribbean coast, and grew up in the communities of Sandy Bay Tara and Wawa. He is a prominent figure in Nicaraguan and Miskitia history and has dedicated his life to defending the rights and autonomy of the Miskitu indigenous people and other Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities in Nicaragua. At age 16, he moved to the country's capital, Managua, where he attended secondary school at the Colegio Experimental México and later earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN). He has four children: Tininiska, Jerry, Yaslam, and Wailandin.

Rivera began his struggle in the 1960s when he actively engaged in the Miskitu fight for political autonomy and cultural recognition. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was a member of the indigenous organization Misurasata, initially formed to represent the communities on the coast amid the country's changing landscape. As a member of its board, he was persecuted by the Sandinista authorities during that period, forcing him into exile in Costa Rica in 1980. This led Rivera to become a key figure in the Miskitu resistance against the Sandinistas, culminating in the armed conflict of the 1980s known as the War of the Miskitia Coast.

On January 21, 1986, Rivera survived an armed attack in the community of Layasiksa by Sandinista forces, resulting in three Indigenous people dead and five injured, along with several civilian casualties. He escaped the military attacks with the support of Indigenous communities and took refuge on San Andrés Island, Colombia. His act of resistance—which carried immense personal risk—helped raise global public awareness about Indigenous rights issues, paving the way for greater support and solidarity with the Miskitu cause.

In 1987, Rivera led a collective effort to unify the Miskitu resistance, leading to the founding of Yatama, the Organization of the Peoples of Mother Earth. Yatama played a crucial role in peace negotiations with the Sandinistas, resulting in the signing of the 1987 Sapoá Agreement, which granted limited autonomy to the Caribbean Coast regions of Nicaragua, including the Miskitia territory.

In the years following the war, Brooklyn Rivera, also known as Taupla Brooklyn (principal leader), continued his work as an advocate for Indigenous rights and autonomy in Nicaragua. He has tirelessly promoted economic autonomy, university education, and sustainable development in Miskitu communities, advocating for improved access to secondary and higher education, health, and economic opportunities.

Between 1990 and 1994, he served as the minister-director of the Institute for Development of the Atlantic Coast (INDERA), established by the government of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro to address the urgent needs of the Caribbean Coast following the end of the armed conflict.

After the war, Yatama, under Brooklyn Rivera's leadership, entered the political life of the autonomous regions, regularly participating in municipal and regional elections since 1990 and becoming the leading regional political organization on the Caribbean Coast. In 2005, YATAMA won a favorable ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against the State of Nicaragua for violations of their political participation rights after being excluded from the 2000 municipal elections. However, to this day, the Nicaraguan state has not fully complied with the court's decision.

In 2007, through an electoral alliance with the FSLN that lasted until 2014, Brooklyn Rivera was elected as a deputy in Nicaragua's National Assembly. From his position as a deputy, he promoted Indigenous rights and, in particular, land titling actions to protect ancestral lands. In 2015, the FSLN illegally deprived Brooklyn Rivera of his status as a deputy. In 2016, he was re-elected by his people as an independent deputy for the Northern Caribbean Region, from where he continued his fight for the defense of Indigenous rights. In 2021, he was elected as a regional deputy for the YATAMA organization for the 2022–2026 term. However, his party's legal personality was canceled in 2023.

Throughout his life, Brooklyn Rivera has faced adversity with courage and determination, earning the respect and admiration of his people and followers worldwide. They now demand proof of life and his immediate release.