Amazon
Tainaky Tenetehar, the 33-year-old Awà takes the protection of his home, the Amazon rainforest into his own hands by leading a group of fellow trackers on motorcycles to rid their forest of illegal loggers. The so called Forest Guardians’ goal is to drive away the loggers in their area by burning and seizing their equipment and weapons.
While this technique forces the loggers out for a short period of time, they never stay away for long due to the fact that these indigenous people only serve as a minor inconvenience to them. Indigenous people have no power with these companies, and if they attempt to get aid from the government, they are either shut down or completely ignored. This was not the first time indigenous people have fought against the companies destroying their home and lost, because in Malaysia in 1982, the Batek De’ people were also forced out of their native home, the rainforest, by loggers. The government then moved the Batek into villages that made them unable to sustain their culture, as they only gained income from the crops they grew, so many of them joined the army to support themselves. Both the government and the loggers disrespected the Batek people because they ignored their right to the land that they have been living on for generations. |
4-year-old Gazielly of the Awà tribe in the Brazilian Amazon with her family's pet capuchin monkey. (National Geographic)
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"There is not another forest. This is our land." - Raoni Metuktire (ODN) |
Yet the indigenous people of the rainforests still have no power over how their homes are treated which directly relates to the loss of indigenous cultures in the forests. According to Aljazeera, since 1970, 2.5 million people have been displaced in Borneo alone because of deforestation. This is due to the fact that the indigenous people who have lived in the rainforests for generations still have no power in deciding the fate of their homes. And to have a chance at maintaining the cultural diversity of the world, we have to allow for more power to go to those who are overpowered by large groups of people.