Series: Indigenous Heritage

Indigenous peoples, who usually see their ancestral lands as sacred and not as a profitable commodity, are being threatened by the oil, gas and mineral wealth that hides beneath their soil. That is coveted by powerful nations and big corporations.

Whereas plantations, logging and dams were the main culprits that displaced Filipino indigenous communities from their ancestral domains and wrought havoc in their way of life in the 70s and 80s, the specter since the 1990s until today is large-scale mining and energy-generation projects. That, ironically, are strongly supported by the government of the Philippines.

Naked, alone, just with the aid of an arch and a bunch of arrows, Karapiru walked for ten years. All started with the murder of his wife by hired gunmen; all ended after wandering over 1,300 kilometers, with the find of his lost son and the start of a new family. This almost incredible survival story was only possible because Karapiru is a Brazilian Indian, used to living in communion with Nature. And tells us a lot about many other Indians, culturally and spiritually deeply attached to Mother Earth.