Amazonian Indigenous Lives

“ Human beings, regardless of their tribe or culture, all share memories. Imagine a great river, where waters from every- where - from the rain, the streams, the springs, the lakes and the river itself, all mix and flow together to form the river. This river of memories is so powerful that it allows us to understand ourselves in this moment.

Ailton Krenak

The amazon forest – easily one of the most significant and important regions in the world – is at risk.

Not only it is this planet’s region of greatest biodiversity, it also holds traditional cultures which have still resisted Western society’s ills. Rich in language and rituals, these communities face extinction from deforestation, disease, violence and economic development.

A new initiative from the heart of the Amazon

Key indigenous leaders in col laborat ion wi th the Museum of the Person, suppor ted by Norwegian technology innovators Piql have developed a new project that aims to contr ibute to the protect ion of indigenous people of the Brazi l ian Amazon. This project wi l l record, preserve and disseminate indigenous memor ies and tradi t ions whi le training young indigenous people in the Social Memory Technology, a methodology that al lows groups to preserve, share and use thei r memor ies autonomously. Preserving the untouched Indigenous people car ry wi th them communi ty histor ies, tradi t ions, ways of thinking, human interact ion and communicat ion as wel l as a unique envi ronmental knowledge. This project wi l l create awareness and contr ibute to the preservat ion of this cul ture, history, knowledge and insight , strengthening the cul ture and ident i ty of these people, whose voices and knowledge are essent ial for the preservat ion of the Amazon rainforest .

This project wi l l ensure that indigenous l ives and cul tures wi l l be col lected, documented and shared wi th the wor ld and contr ibute to a r icher future. 10 Amazonian communi t ies have been invi ted to par t icipate and wi l l be trained to capture the l i fe stor ies of elders, women and other communi ty members. The recorded stor ies wi l l be kept by the communi t ies as par t of thei r legacy and shared wi th the Museum of the Person to inform the publ ic on the impor tance and uniqueness of these cul tures. The Museum wi l l curate a special exhibi t ion featur ing the captured stor ies alongside the l i fe stor ies of 50 indigenous leaders f rom di f ferent Brazi l ian regions. In addi t ion, the memor ies wi l l be stored in the Arct ic Wor ld Archive, a safe reposi tory of wor ld memory. Set deep inside an ar t icle mountain on Svalbard, Norway, memor ies stored here wi l l last for centur ies on Piql ’s future-proof technology.

“ There is a great risk of losing whole languages. We have languages with few speakers. We have people who were forced to speak the language of other people and only the elderly who can recover their identity. Many people are the last speakers. Sônia Guajajara | Leader of Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil)

Col laborat ive design The project has been created wi th, rather than for the indigenous communi ty, designed in col laborat ion wi th the Ashaninka people and Ai l ton Krenak, a wel l-known indigenous leader. In addi t ion to the training and recording of memor ies, the project also aims to record, disseminate and preserve other aspects of indigenous cul ture and tradi t ions—such as how to record and preserve medicinal plants, r i tuals and/or other speci f ic knowledge. What is recorded and included is ent i rely up to the communi t ies, enabl ing them to construct thei r own nar rat ive, ensur ing f reedom and authent ici ty.

Global inf luence To raise awareness of the r isk to these communi t ies and encourage more ini t iat ives to suppor t preservat ion and conservat ion, 50 indigenous leaders wi l l be par t of a Brazi l ian Forum of Indigenous Memor ies. Ten of these leaders wi l l also travel to Norway to par t icipate in a internat ional conference in Oslo wi th pol i t ical and business leaders, shar ing learnings f rom the project and discussing the envi ronment f rom thei r own perspect ive. Fol lowing this event , they wi l l travel to Svalbard to personal ly deposi t the recorded memor ies in the Arct ic Wor ld Archive. By preserving and shar ing indigenous cul tures, we help the wor ld remember a r icher history and contr ibute to a more vibrant future.

UN Sustainability Goals

Project contributors and collaborators

This project is an initiative of the Brazilian indigenous Amazonian communities, proudly supported by the below organisations.

www.piql.com

indigenouslives.org Visit website