on this page:
Xavante
People of the Xingu Corridor
The Heart of Brazil Expedition
General Information About Amazonia
Xavante
An excellent and well-informed history of the Xavante from Instituto Socioambiental
This article from Cultural Survival, an organisation in the USA which works for indigenous people, gives a harrowing view of the problems this ethnic group is experiencing: Cultural Survival
This is a personal experience story written in a journalistic style. It includes plenty of background information about present-day threats in Amazonia. http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/the_unbroken_circle/
The People of the Xingu Corridor
The highest concentration of Indigenous villages visited during the Heart of Brazil expedition is in the Xingu Indigenous Park – now better referred to as the Xingu Indigenous Territory
In the list of tribes below – each of which we visited during the Heart of Brazil Expedition – each tribal name links to the relevant page on the site of Instituto SocioAmbiental, a Brazilian organisation which has an extremely comprehensive coverage of Brazil’s indigenous people.
Kalapalo
Kuikuro
Mehinaku
Yawalapiti
Nafukua
Kamaiura
Waura
Trumai
Ikpeng
Kaiabi
Suyá
Juruna
Kayapo
Parakana
Arawete
Asurini
Arara
Xicrin – the Xicrin are included under Kayapo in the Encyclopaedia
A site primarily about endangered languages, there is a wealth of additional information about the geography and culture of the Trumai, Kuikuro and Aweti. Click on ‘South America’ below the map, then zoom in on Brazil, then Mato Grosso – or click the direct links below the map: dobes.mpi.nl
History
An academic paper with details of some recent archaeological discoveries, from the Land Use and Environmental Change Institute of the University of Florida, by Michael Heckenberger and others: www.clas.ufl.edu/lueci/Xingu_Project.htm. An article on NPR (National Public Radio) about these discoveries: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94104997?storyId=94104997&t=1593126034008.
Geography
A fairly comprehensive overview of the geography of the Araguaia river from WWF. The Araguaia is the next river to the East of the Xingu. http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0180
A description of the Xingu including geographical information and discussion about the threats to the Xingu’s indigenous people and to its wildlife. https://icfcanada.org/our-projects/projects/kayapo-project
Climate Change
Gerard and Margi Moss highlight the crucial part the Amazon rain forest plays in the climate system of South America. www.riosvoadores.com.br
The Heart of Brazil Expedition
Link to The Heart of Brazil Expedition Blog
During the expedition Sue and Patrick were uploading weekly reports and photographs to a blog. This remains as a comprehensive record of their six-month journey:
Heart of Brazil Expedition Blog
The Heart of Brazil in the Press
The BBC featured the Heart of Brazil Expedition on their Brazilian site. Follow this link to read the blog archive in Portuguese: www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/forum.
The Heart of Brazil Expedition and the exhibition at the Brazilian Embassy in London have been featured in several newspapers and magazines. In English:
And in Portuguese:
- O Liberal, Belém, 5th August 2007
- Correio Braziliense, Brasilia, 19th August 2007
- Folha do Meio Ambiente, Brasilia, September 2007
- Leros Magazine, London, October 2007
- Real Magazine, London, October 2007
General information and news about Amazonia
An excellent an intensely readable account of the history of contact between Amerindian and European cultures which covers both North and South America, and which I thoroughly recommend for the incomparable overview of the subject is “1491” by Charles C Mann, an American journalist: Granta Books, ISBN: 9781862078765 – here’s a review on Bastian’s Books.
Mongabay’s Rhett Butler has written copiously about Brazil and the rainforest. This page is packed full of information organised in a very useful way.
Deforestation and Land (Mis)Use
The following are photos selected from NASA. These are high resolution files, so you will need a broadband connection.
This image is from the 7th July 2004. The Xingu Indigenous Territory is obvious, it is the unbroken green area in the middle. The encroaching deforestation is also obvious. The red dots, which you can see as squares when you zoom in, show the locations of fires. http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/13000/13412/terra_brazil_06jul04_250m.jpg.
Here is a larger area, again with the Xingu Indigenous Territory and the Kayapo areas obvious. The date is the 27th June 2004. http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/13000/13410/terra_xingu_27jun04_250m.jpg
This gives an overview of the whole of the expedition area. 15th July 2004. http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/13000/13414/Brazil.TMOA2004197_lrg.jpg
The following links show the same area with additional information from NASA’s Earth Observatory series:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=13412
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=13410
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=13414
In addition to the specific sources of information shown above, many of the organisations shown on our ‘Organisations‘ page host extremely content rich websites, which are well worth visiting.
Climate Change and Amazon Forests
The following publication by Dr Antonio Nobre, one of the foremost experts on the climate of the Amazon region, provides excellent and detailed information about the climate systems and potential changes in the climate and vegetation of the region. Dr Nobre presents a wealth of detailed scientific research in an accessible but authoritative format:
The Future Climate of Amazonia