Opinion: Awa Tribe in Brazil fights to protect ancestral lands

The Awá tribe of Brazil shows us that where tribal peoples’ land is not protected, they cannot survive – but if it is protected, both they, and the rain forests, will thrive.

The Awá of Brazil are the world’s most threatened tribe. Years of illegal logging and land grabs have brought them to the brink of extinction. But apart from the loggers and their guns, one of the biggest threats to their survival is the fallacy that Amazon Indians must inevitably conform to a Western or industrialized lifestyle.

Although people have been saying it for generations, it isn’t true: Tribes are destroyed by labeling them as backward and pretending they stand to benefit from “development.” It’s fundamentally racist, and the evidence points, glaringly, and to our shame, in exactly the opposite direction.

The survival of tribal people is in the interest of all humanity; their diversity shows us how alternative ways of living can be successful. They have invaluable and unique knowledge of their environment, particularly of plants and animals. The Awá know their forests intimately. Every valley, stream and trail is inscribed on their mental map. They know where to find the best honey, which of the trees are coming into fruit, and when game is ready to be hunted. As nomadic hunter-gatherers, the Awá are always on the move. They are not aimlessly wandering – their nomadic way of life nurtures a fundamental bond with their lands.