Kayapo & Kamayura People of Brazil
What can we learn from them?

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Objective: To find out how the Brazilian rainforest tribal people use their natural surroundings and how we can learn from them.
Starter: Watch the first 13:30 minutes of the video beneath. Using this worksheet, take notes on the different and unusual (to you) ways that the indigenous people use their surroundings.
Task 1 - Use your computers to complete this worksheet that compares the life of the tribe in the video and your life. Each image represents a category e.g. the first image of a canoe represents transportation.
Task 2 - Click on the following link that gives information about the Kayapo Indians and Sustainability*. Complete the task set using this framework worksheet.
Task 3 - Use this link from the BBC to design your own cycle diagram four sequence cartoon to show how 'Shifting Cultivation' or 'Slash & Burn' techniques work in the tropical rainforest. You can use this framework sheet. See the help sheet below for more information.
Help sheet - Camayura Indians and Shifting Cultivation*.
Starter: Watch the first 13:30 minutes of the video beneath. Using this worksheet, take notes on the different and unusual (to you) ways that the indigenous people use their surroundings.
Task 1 - Use your computers to complete this worksheet that compares the life of the tribe in the video and your life. Each image represents a category e.g. the first image of a canoe represents transportation.
Task 2 - Click on the following link that gives information about the Kayapo Indians and Sustainability*. Complete the task set using this framework worksheet.
Task 3 - Use this link from the BBC to design your own cycle diagram four sequence cartoon to show how 'Shifting Cultivation' or 'Slash & Burn' techniques work in the tropical rainforest. You can use this framework sheet. See the help sheet below for more information.
Help sheet - Camayura Indians and Shifting Cultivation*.
Optional Task - To watch the rest of video to the right and make notes on all of the special ways that the native people of the Amazonian rainforest in their everyday lives. Are there any surprises?
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Why Is The Rainforest Being Destroyed?
You will have seen recently a lot in the news about the fires in the Amazon rainforest and the attempts by world leaders to put pressure on Brazil to put them out.
The history of deforestation in the Amazon has been long and complicated and the current government certainly favours the economic benefits of the destruction of the forest over the preservation of them. Spend some time watching the VOX video to the right (November 2019) and take notes using the framework sheet below. |
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Did Chico Mendes Die In Vain?
The 10 minute video to the right tells you the story of a famous Brazilian called Chico Mendes. He was at the centre of the fight between those who sought to cut the forest down and those who wanted to save it. Chico wanted to save it. He lived in a remote part of the forest with his family and worked as a rubber tapper but became globally famous in his efforts to save the Amazonian rainforest.
Use the note taking sheet below to record important information from the video so that you can answer the question above. |
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Brazil's Indigenous Land Is Being Invaded
This is the final mini video in this series of three videos from Vox (November 2019). This video introduces you to the forthcoming work on the indigenous people of the forest and how they are being impacted by rapid rates of deforestation overseen by the current Brazilian President - Jair Bolsonaro.
Watch the video all the way through and try to pick out five key moments. Once you have watched it through, go back to the start and complete the worksheet below. The first example has been completed for you. |
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What Does First Contact Mean For The Tribes?
Task 1 - Read this Survival International article. Summarise how each of the factors may affect uncontacted tribes of the rainforest using the worksheet above. Task 2 - Choose one of the members of the tribe on the picture to the right. You are going to be completing some work by putting yourself in their place. You will be completing one of the following two activities: a. Tribal Art (for those good at drawing!) - Using the images in this section, create a similar style piece of artwork that depicts what you and your family in the tribe saw . Split your page into two. One half should depict the plane flying overhead and the second half should be drawn one year later when a combination of the factors (from the table in Task 1) has befallen your tribe. b. The newspaper article - If the plane had landed - scroll down to see more.
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If The Plane Had Landed...
Objective:To write a newspaper story for a publication of your choice outlining the likelihood of the existence of uncontacted tribes and possible protection measures for them.
Starter: Want to see a real life 'First Contact', watch the first video on the right hand side. Note down your immediate thoughts on this video. Task 1 - Watch the second video to the right and make some notes on the content. This will help you to formulate part of your newspaper task later. Task 2 - Click here to download a Google Earth file that will launch in Google Earth. Explore the areas shown in red and read through the information about the tribes, their numbers and locations. (Click here for alternative access) Task 3 - Visit the uncontactedtribes.org website and spend some time reading the articles within. Task 4 - Write a newspaper front page or a blog entry for a publication of your choice outlining the case for the existence of uncontacted tribes and how they can be protected. |
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Structure:
Define an uncontacted tribe
1. Give up to three supposed locations where these tribes exist globally. (*One must be outside of South America)
2. Explain the threats to these tribes
3. Explain the potential consequences of 'First Contact'
4. To give the reader the full extent of their lives, explain five modern day things that they would never have heard of
5. Why are they expert in forest survival and what could be learn from them?
Then ...
i. You should explain why there is a debate over their existence and what the dangers are to these indigenous people. Would a 'western lifestyle' and all the technology and other interactions we have benefit these uncontacted people?
Define an uncontacted tribe
1. Give up to three supposed locations where these tribes exist globally. (*One must be outside of South America)
2. Explain the threats to these tribes
3. Explain the potential consequences of 'First Contact'
4. To give the reader the full extent of their lives, explain five modern day things that they would never have heard of
5. Why are they expert in forest survival and what could be learn from them?
Then ...
i. You should explain why there is a debate over their existence and what the dangers are to these indigenous people. Would a 'western lifestyle' and all the technology and other interactions we have benefit these uncontacted people?