‘Children of the Amazon’ looks at cultural loss of Amazon tribe confronted by deforestation
mongabay.com
October 5, 2008
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‘Children of the Amazon’, a new documentary by Denise Zmekhol, looks at the cultural transformation of the Surui and Negarote tribes following the development and improvement of a highway that penetrates deep into the Amazon rainforest of western Brazil.
Zmekhol focuses on a group of Surui children she photographed 15 years ago to show the rapid cultural change that is occurring in indigenous communities at the frontier of development in the Brazilian Amazon. She illustrates the story through recent interviews with the children, who are now young adults; video shot of their village and the region in the late 1980s when colonists first started arriving in the region; archival footage of the Surui and Negarote tribes shortly after contact in the late 1960s; and the story of Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper union who was assassinated after famously battling ranchers and loggers in the late 1980s and laying the groundwork for the effort to save the Amazon rainforest. While the story is a depressing one for those who wish to see the Amazon conserved and the rights of indigenous people respected, ‘Children of the Amazon’ aims to end on an upbeat note by focusing on heroic efforts among the Surui to protect their forest homeland from developers — today the tribe is working with rubber tappers, innovative conservationists, and even Internet giant Google to preserve forests and its culture.
 The cultural transformation of Surui tribe is perhaps summed up best by a tribal elder: “These days we depend on money to live. We live in a civilized world now.” As depicted in the film, this is a world where young Surui men work for logging companies, shaman have been replaced by generator-powered TVs showing Brazilian game shows, and once clear-flowing rivers are now silted and still. |
The premier, which took place at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 5, was capped by appearances by Almir Surui, a Surui chief; Elenira Mendes,
the daughter of Chico Mendes; Vasco van Roosmalen, Brazil Program Director for the Amazon Conservation Team which is working with Chief Almir Surui to safeguard forest lands and Surui culture through the use of cutting-edge technology; and film-maker Denise Zmekhol. Chief Almir Surui was a day earlier recognized for his efforts to fight deforestation by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom who declared October 4th “Chief Almir Surui Day.”
At a reception following the film, Chief Almir Surui told mongabay.com that his tribe has faced a difficult struggle but that collaboration with the Amazon Conservation team, Google, and others has given the Surui new leverage against those who are trying to seize their lands and destroy their forests.
“The Surui know little about the Internet, but Google knows little about the forest, so working together we will be stronger,” he said. “We are mapping and monitoring our lands to protect our resources from loggers and ranchers.”
For more about ‘Children of the Amazon’, visit childrenoftheamazon.com.
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