Indigenous peoples of the Amazon

Felled trees on Karipuna territory in the Amazonian state of Rondônia.

Lula empowers Brazil’s Indigenous peoples with their own ministry. But environmental protection remains a key concern.

Environment

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made good on a series of campaign promises to defend the Amazon and empower Indigenous peoples. He already signed an executive order to relaunch a billion-dollar Amazon fund, where foreign governments can contribute to forest protection, among six other orders.

The Belo Monte hydroelectric dam stands in the Xingu River in Altamira, Para state, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 6, 2019. 

Plan to divert water to Brazil’s Belo Monte dam threatens Indigenous peoples and wildlife

Environment
Yawalapiti Chief Aritana is seen in the Xingu National Park, Mato Grosso State, May 9, 2012.

Brazil’s Indigenous communities suffer grave losses from coronavirus 

COVID-19
A muddy river runs through a green landscape. On one side are trees and a dense forest; the other is bare.

‘Our wealth is the forest’: Indigenous tribes are the last best hope for the Amazon

A dry brown patch of land is dotted with trees

A ‘Third Way’ to save the Amazon: make the standing forest itself more valuable

In Brazil, indigenous tribes are still struggling to protect the rainforest — and their culture

Environment

Brazil is rushing ahead with big economic development plans. It will host the soccer World Cup later this year, and the Olympics two years later. But all that progress is challenging the traditions — even the way of life — of the country’s indigenous people.Brazil is rushing ahead with big economic development plans. It will host the soccer World Cup later this year, and the Olympics two years later. But all that progress is challenging the traditions — even the way of life — of the country’s indigenous people.

The World

Protecting a Forest and Preserving a Culture

An ancient indigenous tribe trades in its bows and arrows for laptops and satellite dishes. The Surui tribe of Brazil embarks on a unique project designed to protect their forest and profit from the results.

The Price of Oil in the Amazon

The Achuar people of Peru are suing Occidental Petroleum, claiming decades of contamination.

The World

Can This Tribe Be Saved?

In the extremely remote region of the Ecuadorian Amazon the Zapara tribe, much reduced in numbers, tries to revive its language and culture just as the oil industry is approaching their territory. From the Homelands Productions series, “Worlds of Difference,” Alan Weisman reports on the tribe’s uncertain fate.