The Future is Indigenous

A portrait series of Indigenous leaders, activists and storytellers at Acampamento Terra Livre in Brazil

About the project

To celebrate Brazil's indigenous political resistance movement, Indigenous journalist and filmmaker Eric Terena— who was reporting on the ground for Indigenous-led storytelling platform Mídia Indigena—and British documentarian Alice Aedy, Earthrise, set up a temporary studio at Acampamento Terra Livre, Brasilia.

Partners

Services

Curation

Art Direction

Photography

Social + Digital Impact Campaign

Collaborators

Eric Terena

Challenge

Whilst Indigenous communities are only 5% of the world's population, they protect 80% of global biodiversity.

Each year, thousands flock to the Brazilian capital of Brasilia for Acampamento Terra Livre (Freedom Land Camp).

Considered the largest assembly of Indigenous peoples in the world, the event gives an opportunity for members from the country’s many Indigenous nations to gather in solidarity, strategise and discuss solutions to their joint struggles—including the continued erosion of the rights of Indigenous peoples, the destruction of Brazil’s diverse ecosystems, and the worsening threat of climate change.

Solution

The Future is Indigenous (“O Futuro é Indígena”) is a multi-media project celebrating Brazil's indigenous political resistance movement, Indigenous journalist and filmmaker Eric Terena— who was reporting on the ground for Indigenous-led storytelling platform Mídia Indigena—and British documentarian Alice Aedy, Earthrise, set up a temporary studio at Acampamento Terra Livre, Brasilia.

Celebrated activists Sônia Guajajara and Célia Xakriabá, among others, were captured in a stylised mode typically reserved for high fashion and celebrity editorials. The project was given a simple, yet powerful title: “O futuro é indígena” (The Future is Indigenous).

Célia Xakriabá

"My name is Célia, I am from the Cerrado biome, the second largest Brazilian biome."

Our struggle is for the Earth. But it is also for other territories—it is for the territory of thinking, the territory of narrating, the territory of policy-making, the territory of using communication as a weapon, and the territory of understanding and recognition.

Impact

As part of the digital photography exhibition, WeTransfer offered to match donations up to €20,000 to those who donated to Choose Earth, a collective fundraising and awareness-raising campaign of the struggles Indigenous Peoples in Brazil face within the context of the climate crisis to a Western audience.

“Indigenous peoples are the stewards of the Earth’s most critical biodiversity. The world’s largest interconnected communities of species live in our ancestral territories, and it’s our job to protect them.”

Eric Terena

O Futuro é Indígena with WeTransfer

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