Davi Kopenawa Yanomami
Encyclopedia
Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, name also written Davi Kobenawä Yanomamö (born Toototobi, Brazil
, circa 1956) is a shaman and Portuguese
-speaking spokesperson of the Yanomami Indians in Brazil
. He came to international prominence for this advocacy regarding tribal issues and Amazon Rainforest
conservation when the tribal rights organization Survival International
invited him to accept the Right Livelihood Award on its behalf in 1989. Davi spoke to both the British and Swedish parliaments about the catastrophic impact on Yanomami health as a consequence of the illegal invasion of their land by 40,000 ‘garimpeiros’ or goldminers. Prince Charles
publicly called the situation ‘genocide’. In a seven year period from 1987-1993 one fifth of the Yanomami died from malaria and other diseases transmitted by the miners.
"Of all Yanomami who have emerged as public figures, probably the most important is Davi Kopenawa Yanomami."
Davi Kopenawa was born near the Rio Toototobi
near the border of Venezuela
. He learned Portuguese from a Christian mission
run by New Tribes Mission
, an American
evangelical
organization specializing in the proselytization
of isolated peoples
. The acquisition of Portuguese language proficiency, then rare among the Yanomami, enabled Davi Kopenawa to interact with Brazil's Lusophone
majority both directly and through the mass media
.
In his own words translated from Portuguese:
Davi Kopenawa is the son-in-law of another traditional tribal leader with whom he apprenticed to be a shaman. His wife lost much of her family to measles
and other disease
s brought to the area in the 1970s by road construction
crews and garimpeiros (small-time gold miners
). Davi Kopenawa has mentioned this as part of his personal motivation to speak out on his people's behalf. Davi was orphaned as a child when his parents died from diseases transmitted by outsiders.
In the 1980s, he began working for the Brazilian government organization Fundação Nacional do Índio
(FUNAI) at a post in Demini in the center of Yanomami territory as an intermediary between the government and indigenous peoples with whom outsiders had little or no contact. He also accompanied health workers to Yanomami villages and has worked closely with organizations such as Comissão Pró-Yanomami (CCPY) and Survival International in the fight for the integrity of Yanomami lands in Brazil.
Since the invasion of Yanomami territory began in 1987 by illegal goldminers, Davi Kopenawa has worked for their removal from the area and for the creation of a park
land therein. His action resulted in death threat
s from the miners and an award from the United Nations Environment Programme
in 1988. After a major international campaign led by Davi, Survival International and CCPY, the Brazilian government finally recognized Yanomami land rights in 1992 just before the UN’s Earth Summit.
Davi Kopenawa's unique role among his people has been commented on skeptically even by those sympathetic to him and his cause. Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon
wrote regarding Davi Kopenawa:
Survival International and many others with extensive experience of the Yanomami have severely criticized Chagnon’s work which portrays the Yanomami as ‘sly, aggressive, and intimidating’ and falsely claims that they ‘live in a state of chronic warfare’. This characterization has undoubtedly been detrimental for them. It was referred to by the Brazilian government when it planned to fragment Yanomami land in 1988, in a proposal which would have been catastrophic for the Indians and which was only prevented by a vigorous campaign.
Chagnon's views in this matter were criticized by investigative journalist
Patrick Tierney in his much-defamed book Darkness in El Dorado
.
Davi has spoken out for over 20 years and visited many countries with his message about the importance of respecting indigenous peoples rights and their fundamental and unique role in conserving rainforest for the benefit of humanity.
In 2004 Davi and other Yanomami in Brazil set up an organization called Hutukara to defend their rights. As well as advocating for Yanomami rights, it runs educational projects where Yanomami teachers work in the communities teaching literacy, maths, geography and human rights.
Davi continues to speak out about the dangers facing the Yanomami. He has warned about the impact large scale mining will have on the Yanomami if the Brazilian congress votes to allow mining on indigenous lands.
In 2009 he was honoured by the Bartolome de las Casas award in Spain and later gave a speech to the UK parliament where he warned that the goldminers are once again invading Yanomami land and disease is spreading.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, circa 1956) is a shaman and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
-speaking spokesperson of the Yanomami Indians in Brazil
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
. He came to international prominence for this advocacy regarding tribal issues and Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
conservation when the tribal rights organization Survival International
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
invited him to accept the Right Livelihood Award on its behalf in 1989. Davi spoke to both the British and Swedish parliaments about the catastrophic impact on Yanomami health as a consequence of the illegal invasion of their land by 40,000 ‘garimpeiros’ or goldminers. Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
publicly called the situation ‘genocide’. In a seven year period from 1987-1993 one fifth of the Yanomami died from malaria and other diseases transmitted by the miners.
"Of all Yanomami who have emerged as public figures, probably the most important is Davi Kopenawa Yanomami."
Davi Kopenawa was born near the Rio Toototobi
Rio Toototobi
Rio Toototobi , is a river in the Amazon Rainforest of Amazonas, Brazil. It is a tributary of the upper Rio Demini near the headwaters of the Orinoco....
near the border of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. He learned Portuguese from a Christian mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
run by New Tribes Mission
New Tribes Mission
New Tribes Mission is an international, theologically evangelical Christian mission organization based in Sanford, Florida, United States. NTM has approximately 3,300 missionaries in more than 20 nations, second only to Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL International David Hesselgrave, Executive...
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
evangelical
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
organization specializing in the proselytization
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
of isolated peoples
Uncontacted peoples
Uncontacted people, also referred to as isolated people or lost tribes, are communities who live, or have lived, either by choice or by circumstance, without significant contact with globalized civilisation....
. The acquisition of Portuguese language proficiency, then rare among the Yanomami, enabled Davi Kopenawa to interact with Brazil's Lusophone
Lusophone
A Lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language, either as a native, as an additional language, or as a learner. As an adjective, it means "Portuguese-speaking"...
majority both directly and through the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
In his own words translated from Portuguese:
I know that the authorities and many people came here because the planet is sick and they are trying to find out how to cure it. The people who come from many places, from the other side of the big lake, all come here to learn about how we live. I want to speak giving the message from OmaiOmai (deity)Omai is a Creator deity mentioned by Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, a shaman and Portuguese-speaking spokesperson of the Yanomami índios of Brazil.In his own words translated from Portuguese:...
. Omai is the creator of the Yanomami who also has created all the shaboris that are the shamans. The shaboris are the ones that have the knowledge, and they sent two of us to deliver their message. The message is to stop destruction, to stop taking out minerals from under the ground, to stop taking out the steel with which all the metal utensils are made, and to stop building roads. We feel that a lot of riches have already been taken out of the indigenous lands, and a lot of these riches are getting old and useless, and it would be much better if the Brazilian governmentPolitics of BrazilThe politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
would give these riches to the poor in Brazil. Our work is to protect nature, the wind, the mountains, the forest, the animals, and this is what we want to teach you people.
Davi Kopenawa is the son-in-law of another traditional tribal leader with whom he apprenticed to be a shaman. His wife lost much of her family to measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
and other disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
s brought to the area in the 1970s by road construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
crews and garimpeiros (small-time gold miners
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
). Davi Kopenawa has mentioned this as part of his personal motivation to speak out on his people's behalf. Davi was orphaned as a child when his parents died from diseases transmitted by outsiders.
After some months of staying on our territory, they started to transmit malariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
to us. That means that the garimpeiros were already sick. Mosquitos bit the garimpeiros and then bit us. That is how we got the disease. The garimpeiros also brought in other diseases. There are complications of pneumoniaPneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, sometimes associated with malaria; tuberculosisTuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
; skin diseases that often are associated with other diseases, and, especially in children, can be fatal; there was an epidemic of yellow feverYellow feverYellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in the area; hepatitisHepatitisHepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
.
In the 1980s, he began working for the Brazilian government organization Fundação Nacional do Índio
Fundação Nacional do Índio
Fundação Nacional do Índio or FUNAI is a Brazilian governmental protection agency for Indian interests and their culture.It was originally called the SPI and was founded by the Brazilian Marshal Cândido Rondon in 1910, who also created the agency's motto, "Die if necessary, but never kill." The...
(FUNAI) at a post in Demini in the center of Yanomami territory as an intermediary between the government and indigenous peoples with whom outsiders had little or no contact. He also accompanied health workers to Yanomami villages and has worked closely with organizations such as Comissão Pró-Yanomami (CCPY) and Survival International in the fight for the integrity of Yanomami lands in Brazil.
Since the invasion of Yanomami territory began in 1987 by illegal goldminers, Davi Kopenawa has worked for their removal from the area and for the creation of a park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
land therein. His action resulted in death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s from the miners and an award from the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
in 1988. After a major international campaign led by Davi, Survival International and CCPY, the Brazilian government finally recognized Yanomami land rights in 1992 just before the UN’s Earth Summit.
Davi Kopenawa's unique role among his people has been commented on skeptically even by those sympathetic to him and his cause. Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon
Napoleon Chagnon
Napoleon A. Chagnon is an American anthropologist and retired professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was born in Port Austin, Michigan...
wrote regarding Davi Kopenawa:
His non-Yanomamö supporters in Brazil, intelligent and well-intentioned advocates of the Yanomamö cause, are promoting him as a spokesman for his people. Such a role exists largely because our culture must deal with other cultures through their leaders – it is the only way we know how to deal with them. Everything I know about Davi Kobenawä is positive, and I am confident that he is a sincere and honest man. When I read his proclamations, I am moved – but I am also sure that
someone from our culture wrote them. They have too much the voice of RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
’s idealism and sound very non-Yanomamö. My concern is that he is being put into a difficult position, fraught with consequences for the future of the Yanomamö. For one thing, there is currently no such thing as a pan-Yanomamö awareness, and so he cannot possibly be speaking for the Venezuelan Yanomamö.
Survival International and many others with extensive experience of the Yanomami have severely criticized Chagnon’s work which portrays the Yanomami as ‘sly, aggressive, and intimidating’ and falsely claims that they ‘live in a state of chronic warfare’. This characterization has undoubtedly been detrimental for them. It was referred to by the Brazilian government when it planned to fragment Yanomami land in 1988, in a proposal which would have been catastrophic for the Indians and which was only prevented by a vigorous campaign.
Chagnon's views in this matter were criticized by investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
Patrick Tierney in his much-defamed book Darkness in El Dorado
Darkness in El Dorado
Darkness in El Dorado is a book written by investigative journalist Patrick Tierney in 2000 that accuses geneticist James Neel and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon of exacerbating a measles epidemic among the Yanomamo people and conducting human research without regard for their subjects' wellbeing...
.
Davi has spoken out for over 20 years and visited many countries with his message about the importance of respecting indigenous peoples rights and their fundamental and unique role in conserving rainforest for the benefit of humanity.
In 2004 Davi and other Yanomami in Brazil set up an organization called Hutukara to defend their rights. As well as advocating for Yanomami rights, it runs educational projects where Yanomami teachers work in the communities teaching literacy, maths, geography and human rights.
Davi continues to speak out about the dangers facing the Yanomami. He has warned about the impact large scale mining will have on the Yanomami if the Brazilian congress votes to allow mining on indigenous lands.
We the Yanomami people think that mining will not bring any benefits to anyone. It will only destroy nature. It will only destroy the streams and the rivers and kill the fish and kill the environment. And kill us. And bring in diseases which never existed in our land. It will bring roads and people who will bring in disease, guns and violence. So we, the Yanomami people do not want the national congress to approve the law or the president to sign it. We do not want to accept this law. Our land has to be respected. Our land is our heritage, a heritage which protects us. This land belongs to us so that we can plant, hunt, be healthy, it is our home where will live for the rest of our lives.
In 2009 he was honoured by the Bartolome de las Casas award in Spain and later gave a speech to the UK parliament where he warned that the goldminers are once again invading Yanomami land and disease is spreading.