A Visit to Kayapo Lands

by Matt Aruch, ICFC Director of Indigenous Conservation Programs, Sept. 2024

Few people get to experience remote areas of the Amazon and witness the way of life of the Indigenous people who live there.  ICFC provides a way.  From July 29 to August 16, 2024, ten participants from Brazil, Canada, England, Hungary, and the United States participated in the annual Kayapo Internship and Field Course. Participants explored cities, towns, and Kayapo villages in the highly threatened southeastern Amazon, traveling from Marabá to Tucumã to the Kamoktidjam village in the heart of the Kayapo Indigenous Territory.  

Field Course Activities 

After meeting Kayapo NGO leaders at the Indigenous-led Protected Forest Association and Pykore Association, the group traveled 150 km up the Xingu River to the Xingu Lodge at Kamoktidjam village. For eleven days, participants learned alongside 30 Kayapo Equipe do Bá (Forest Team) leaders. The Forest team consisted of three rotating groups of 10, with representation from nine Xingu villages . Both the internship and the Forest team are ICFC-supported programs that promote intergenerational knowledge and learning targeted toward Kayapo youth to reinforce the continuation of Kayapo knowledge and culture.   

During their stay, participants immersed themselves in the biological and cultural diversity of Kayapo lands. On treks accompanied by the Forest Team to the cerrado (savanna), Brazil nut groves, and other sites of interest, participants learned about Amazon tropical ecology.  Back in the village, they experienced traditional cultural activities such as body painting with genipapo fruit, making beaded jewelry, Brazil nut collection, cacao and traditional gardening. To observe elusive animals and shrouded landscapes, we deployed cameras, camera traps and drones—practices that the Kayapo have adopted as part of their biodiversity monitoring and conservation toolkit. This exchange of technologies and experiences created a shared experience that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers.  

For participants, this was an experience not to be forgotten. 

Program Benefits 

The Kayapo Internship and Field Course continues to be a vital platform for strengthening intercultural relations and building a more sustainable future for the Kayapo and the Amazon. The program provides one of the few opportunities for Kayapo interaction with outsiders committed to the protection of Kayapo territory and culture, not simply access to Kayapo land, timber, gold, or fish.  With a growing demand for responsible tourism and authentic cultural exchange, the program continues to be a valuable resource for Kayapo communities and those seeking a deeper understanding of the complexities of the Amazon and its Indigenous guardians. 

 “With Kayapo leaders we did at least 6 hikes of several kilometers each…  Muddy spots indicate an abundance of mammals and birds.  There are always many butterflies flitting about, including a large variety of Blue Morpho and the Caligo (Owl Butterfly).  Plant diversity is endless… You hear a lot of other birds, frogs, and insects, but rarely get a glimpse in the dense forest.  Being in unbroken forest of this magnitude give one pause to ponder how much of earth has “passed away” in the past few hundred years and what remains… And then how much of the Amazon has disappeared (along with its Indigenous people) just in the past 40 years… How much will remain a hundred years from now?
— Scott Hecker, ICFC staff member and 2024 field course participant 

Want to Participate, Sponsor, or Support the field course? Join the Kayapo next year:

(1) Individual Participation: To participate as an individual, read about the program, complete the interest form, or message aruch@icfcanada.org

(2) Institutional Participation or Support: ICFC is looking for a university/institutional partner to help recruit 2025 Internship and Field Program participants.  Please reach out to aruch@icfcanada.org if you think your institution is a good fit.

(3) Donate to the Kayapo Project: Your support ensures ongoing Kayapo vigilance and surveillance of the 2200 km (1,375 miles) of border across more than 9 million hectares of tropical forest, without which the Kayapo Internship and Field Course would not be possible.

To learn more about the Kayapo Project, please visit the project page.  And your support (online donation or other) is welcome!