Indigenous People Struggle to find their Voice in the Modern World

The Amazon rain forest is the world’s largest source of freshwater, the most biodiverse tropical rainforest, and culturally diverse region with over 400 different indigenous groups that live and call the Amazon their home. As Brazil grows so does its need for power sources to fuel the economic and industrial development. Hydroelectric generated power is the number one source for energy in Brazil now, and facing an energy shortage seems to be the best way for Brazil to keep up with their industrial needs. However, how hydroelectric power is generated, damns, have created a dilemma in Brazil. The Amazon river is the main source of water used to generate the hydroelectricity. Indigenous peoples that live by and rely on the river as not only a source of life, but a historical culture center face displacement from the projected damns proposed by the government planners. These indigenous people face great hurdles in opposing the projects, none as great as their lack of recognition by the government and people throughout the world.

Many people in the world are uneducated about the various indigenous tribes of the planet. In these modern times, it is hard to imagine indigenous tribes living outside the realm of the main stream world. With this piece of knowledge, it is no surprise that outside of these tribes, there is little to no recognition of the issues their cultures face. In Brazil, the ignorance to the plight faced by the Xingu almost led to the destruction of their civilization. The Belo Monte damn was a proposed project that would help alleviate some of Brazils energy deficiencies, but the damn would also lead to widespread deforestation and a permanent drought condition on some of the Amazon. This particular area that would be subject to drought was the epicenter of this civilizations history, it wasn’t simply a stretch of river that people fished on or used for farming, it was their culture. However, as the Xingu people tried to oppose the plans for the damn, they increasingly faced an uphill battle to overturn the project. They did not have a voice to spread their message to the masses, that is until James Cameron stepped in and decided to help.

Cameron, a famous US director whose most recent work at the time “Avatar” went on to become the highest grossing movie of all time, visited the Xingu people and was inspired to help them (Jampolsky). Beginning almost immediately Cameron brought attention to the plight of the Xingu’s worldwide. Facebook groups with hundreds of thousand likes began popping up and word spread (Jampolsky). Now Brazil’s government and construction companies faced increased scrutiny over the impact the damn would have. Some argued that the economical, and social impact this would have on the Xingu was not being weighed in to the decision-making process (Jampolsky). Others, like many often do argued against the fact that an American film director was interfering with a sovereign nations (Brazil) business. There is widespread scrutiny over celebrities and their “cause of the month.” Cameron however was not deterred, continually campaigning for the Xingu in any way he could.

By writing letters to the former president of Brazil and hosting special screenings of Avatar for indigenous leaders around the world, Cameron became a champion for the Xingu people. This issue was now not one the Xingu faced alone. The world now knew of their plight and viewed their culture and heritage as an important issue that we all must address.

Without a powerful ally like Cameron, the Xingu and other indigenous peoples face almost insurmountable odds to maintaining their land and way of life. The lack of a public presence limits the reach of indigenous tribes, and I believe this is a vital issue that we all must pay attention too. While we must continue to pursue what is best for the most amount of people, we cannot simply ignore the effects our decisions will have on others.

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