The Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change is holding the event "Protecting Brazilian Indigenous Lands: A first-hand account from the Chief of the Yawanaw√°" on October 21 at 6:00pm in 1210 Heller Hall. Chief Tashka Yawanaw√° will discuss steps that Indigenous communities have taken to defend and sustain their lands, culture, and ways of life in the 21st century.
Tashka's leadership and tireless efforts have led to the reinvigoration of Yawanaw√° culture and the establishment of environmentally, economically and socially empowering alliances.
Tashka Yawanaw√° is the Chief of the Yawanaw√°, an indigenous group residing in the Brazilian Amazon. Since becoming Chief in 2001, Tashka has worked to reestablish and preserve his people's traditional culture and sustain their ancestral lands. He is actively involved in the Sociocultural Association of Yawanaw√°, which works to improve the socioeconomic status of the Yawanaw√° and to preserve their natural heritage. The organization has successfully resisted pressures from commercial logging and Tashka secured official title to over 150,000 hectares of Yawanaw√° ancestral rainforest where over 600 members of the Yawanaw√° community live. Tashka has also facilitated an ongoing partnership between the Yawanaw√° and Aveda, a manufacturer of botanically-based personal care products, which involves the sale of locally-harvested urucum seeds. He regularly speaks at UN international conferences.
