Eating and laughing with the Suruwaha
The Suruwaha are a recently contacted Indigenous people living in the Purus River basin, in the Amazon. In this second episode, we speak with Miguel Aparício about the Suruwaha, a people which he has accompanied and worked alongside for nearly thirty years. In this three-part conversation, Miguel looks back on his early years as an indigenist with OPAN in the 1990s and reflects on how he was gradually welcomed by the Suruwaha over the years until he became, in his own words, almost a relative.
Rediscovering Witoto
Vanda Witoto is a committed advocate for Indigenous peoples and the Amazon. In this episode, she shares the story of her people’s migration from Colombia and reflects on the impact of colonisation on the loss of languages, memories, and traditions. Throughout the conversation, she also speaks about her own life journey, shaped by challenges and achievements, and how she has used her voice across different areas of society to bring larger visibility to the stories of her people.
Plant diversity among the Krahô
In this episode, Ana Gabriela Morim de Lima reflects on her journey alongside the Krahô people, which began in 2004, and the many lessons she has learned through years of working with them. The conversation explores the cultivation of sweet potatoes, kinship relations, and the rituals that shape the social life of the Krahô.
Characteristics of the Amazonian Archaeology
In this episode about Amazonian archaeology, Claide de Paula Moraes introduces some of the main chapters in the Amazon’s long history of human occupation. During the conversation, he also reflects on what first drew him to archaeology and shares insights from a recent research project with the Zoé, an isolated Indigenous people whose way of life offers important clues about how human societies have shaped Amazonian landscapes over time.
Wajãpi: Cassavas, Agoutis and Biodiversity
The Wajãpi are an Indigenous people living in the state of Amapá, in a territory of more than 600,000 hectares near the border with French Guiana. They speak a Tupi language belonging to the Tupi-Guarani language family. In this episode, Joana Cabral de Oliveira shares what she has learned through years of working and living alongside the Wajãpi, exploring how Indigenous cultivation practices help create and sustain biodiversity.
Contemporary Isolation of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil
In this episode, we speak with Miguel Aparício about the Suruwaha, a recently contacted Indigenous people who live in the Purus River basin of the Amazon. Miguel explains what is meant by uncontacted peoples and peoples of recent contact, explores why some Indigenous groups choose to remain isolated today, and discusses the challenges they face in their relationship with wider society and the Brazilian state.