Culture Exchange
The Amazon rainforest is the most biodiverse place in the world.
Home to many indigenous people. Indigenous peoples' cultures have changed dramatically since the first contact. Contact with different cultures caused significant and irreversible changes in the lives of villages and indigenous people.
Nowadays, many indigenous leaders recognize the significance of new technologies and the digital revolution era in today's technologically advanced and dependent world. When they look at history, they understand that modernizing is just a recent consequence of a process that has been going on for a long time because of the contact relationship with non-indigenous people.
Historically, indigenous people have been the object of multiple images and conceptions by non-indigenous people and, consequently, by the indigenous themselves, deeply marked by prejudice and ignorance. Alternative perspectives see them as valuable keepers of forests and rivers, as well as potential guardians of key priority regions of the earth, which are threatened by rapid deforestation.
Being a part of the modern world does not imply abandoning one's origins or one's own traditions and ways of living, but rather a conscious interaction with other cultures that leads to finding value and appreciation of oneself. In a broader sense, this is what most non-Indigenous people who discover indigenous culture, and recognize its rich value have in common. Knowledge exchange.
Knowledge exchange is of great value to both sides. Learning, collaborating, cultivating social, cultural, and spiritual new experiences, and most importantly, reconnecting with their own essence and relearning how to live while respecting and valuing the environment and moving toward a more sustainable future. Many indigenous peoples share the same visions as we do. At the end of the day, we are all human beings with more similarities than differences. Differences and values that should be regarded as an advantage, an asset to society, rather than a problem, (a cultural heritage treasure).
Interculturality is the existence and equitable interaction of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared cultural expressions through dialogue and mutual respect. A possibility of coexistence between cultures and identities. A balanced expression of the link between old traditional knowledge and current scientific and technical knowledge. The knowledge exchange empowers, and it is vital for their leaders to bridge the gap between cultural differences.
Indigenous groups presently comprise a network of institutions, strategies, and indigenous projects scattered over the national territory. They use all the modern world's political and technological resources to preserve and enforce indigenous rights. Meanwhile, the leaders of these groups travel the country and the world to promote and defend indigenous peoples' rights and interests, sitting on important committees such as the UN, the OAS, and other international organizations.
Leaders of the movement and indigenous organizations must develop political, technical capacities and skills that go beyond the traditional. The bold projects and strategies proposed by the Amazonian indigenous movement require highly qualified indigenous leadership in terms of understanding the complex modern and globalized world, so that they can discern the shaky borders that separate the various social and political projects between non-indigenous and indigenous peoples.
They are the voice, the advocates and protectors of all realms of their society. These are their current realms:
Isolated
400 Years of Contact
100 Years of Contact
Living in the City
All the diversity among indigenous people must be preserved!
Preserve the People - Preserve the Forest!
Ref – O Índio Brasileiro: o que você precisa saber sobre os povos indígenas no Brasil de hoje. By Baniwa - Luciano, Gersem dos Santos.
Ref - The Brazilian Indigenous: What you need to know about indigenous peoples in Brazil today. By Baniwa - Luciano, Gersem dos Santos.
