The fight of the indigenous peoples is ancestral, and for a long time the process of resistance was through the use of bows and arrows, spears, and other tools, which were essential instruments to guarantee the existence of the original peoples. As time went by, the adaptation to this new world that was being formed was necessary for the continuity of our fight for survival, so our tools also changed. Therefore, today, something essential to tell our story, prove, validate, and affirm our existence has been the social networks, made possible by the internet access we have in our territories.
At the beginning of June, Starlink satellite internet equipment was installed in the Kaarimã Village, acquired by the Juma Institute. The satellite internet has been present in the Amazonian territory, as for example in the T.I Yanomami, with an excellent performance in its proposal of being the most advanced broadband internet in the world, especially in remote areas. Previously there was another internet connection in the village, which did not work on cloudy or rainy days, and whose speed was insufficient for various uses. Now the community can access a wide range of educational resources, research, and information relevant to their studies. This not only promotes digital inclusion, but also expands learning opportunities.
The Internet has also aided entrepreneurship and economic development in the indigenous villages. Previously, business opportunities were limited by geographic barriers and lack of connection to larger markets. Thus contributing to the economic autonomy and empowerment of indigenous communities, allowing them to become important players in the local and regional socio-economic context.
With a better internet, we will be able to continue our mission, doing justice to what the indigenous activist Sâmela Sateré Mawé says about demarcating not only the territories but also the screens, finally establishing a link between the past, present, and future of much ancestry and resistance, changing only our instruments of containment to the destruction of mother earth, adapting them to the globalized reality that surrounds us in our territory.
Text by: Rayane Xipaya
