35-year-old Paiakan, organizer of the historic Altamira conference and one of the emerging leaders of the struggle to save the Amazon.
Amazon Produces remarkable leader
Thirty-five year ago, a remarkable person was born in the remote Kayapo indian village or Gorotire, deep into the rain forest of the Xingu tributary of the Amazon River. His name, Paiakan. His gift, the ability to see the big picture and to comprehend the vast, complex international forces which reach deep into the jungle and threaten the life and culture of his people.
When Paiakan was a teenager he left Gorotire to live for a time with missionaries to learn about Brazilian culture and to master Portuguese, the national language. At age of 16 he wrote a book - What the Forest Means to Me - published by Brazil's Department of Indian Affairs
Builds a new village
Paiakan began to realize that devastation encroached on the Kayapo lands. He saw vast open pit mines, polluted rivers, and burned hills where once rich rainforest had flourished.
At the age 26 he led a group of Kayapo 60 kilometers upriver to found a new village far from the roads which were bringing in disease as well as devastation. In preparation for his move away form "civilization" he became a certified nurse.
Captures gold mine
News that gold miners has invaded Kayapo lands spurred Paiakan to lead a party of 125 warriors on a long treck through the dense forest. Reaching the site after nightfall, they discovered a huge mine employing 5,000 workers!
Despite the odds, Paiakan decided that they could not turn back. He knew their reputation as fierce warriors would help-most Brazilians are terrified of the Kayapo! They split into four groups. The first captured the guard hut and its machine guns, the second took over the crucial airstrip and planes, the third rounded up the sleeping miners....they held the mine for four months.
The tribe still controls the mine, receiving important royalties which fund Kayapo political action.
Uses modern technology
Last May, Paiakan and the other Kayapo leaders participated in talks for the new Brazilian constitution. To keep the government honest the Kayapo brought video cameras. Operating them skillfully, they captured and preserved the actual promises made by the government.
Paiakan has also been videotaping the devastation of mining, logging, and flooding in the rainforest. The villagers of Aucre and Gorotiri, now video veterans, have become well informed on Brazilian politics as well as environmental destruction.
Paiakan realized that to fight the Indians' battles effectively he would have to move to the city. Someone had to be in the white man's world to be the eyes and ears for the Indian community. And so he moved his family to Belem, the blusting city at the mouth of the Amazon, far from the songs and sounds of his beloved forest. Ironically, to save the forest he loves, he had to leave it.
Life and death struggle
Fighting to save the tropical rainforest in Brazil is a dangerous undertaking. In recent years nearly 1,000 people who have been fighting for the rainforest have been assassinated. Large landowners have paid killers to clear their way. Because Paiakan and other Indian chiefs are becoming so articulate and well-known, they, too are receiving death threats.
The threat has been all the more real since the assassination just before Christmas of Chico Mendes, the leader of the seringueiros, the rubber-tappers. Chico Mendes fought for the preservation of the standing forest and established the first "extractive reserve", which proved the standing forest is far more lucartive than a burned one.
Fundraising to provide protection for vulnerable but indispensable leaders such as Paiakan is an important priotity in the protection of the Amazon.
Canadian "No" to Brazilian dam loans will help prevent further rainforest destruction
In Aucre, the jungle village founded by Chief Paiakan, the Kayapo still dance... but for how long?
