Memoirs of an Indian Chief
Publisher
:
Rocher
Parution date
:
EAN
:
9782268068855
Number of pages
:
263
Description
Raoni is Chief of the Megkronoti, a dwindling group of the Kayapo Indian tribe that is indigenous to Brazil. Here he tells his own story, from his first fight—the Kayapo men are warriors—to his becoming an internationally recognized leader in the movement to save the Amazon rainforest and the Indian tribes who live there.
Although Chief Raoni had fought incursions into his territory for many years, he was discovered by the general public in 1978 through a documentary, nominated for an Academy Award, that was directed by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux and narrated by Marlon Brando. Chief Raoni acquired even greater public stature in 1989, during a multinational campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the rainforest and its inhabitants. By 1991, the many donations collected worldwide allowed the current Kayapo reserve to be combined with the National Park of Xingu and the Gorotire and Panara Reserves into the largest existing rainforest preserve, covering 75,000 square miles.
In his memoir, Chief Raoni describes growing up in the heart of the Amazon basin, his first contact with white men, his first flight in an airplane, and his 1989 world tour with the singer Sting to raise awareness of the rainforest situation. He explains the rainforest’s importance to his people as well as the world; and his fierce determination to allow his people to preserve their traditions and customs.
Memoirs of an Indian Chief is more than an autobiography with geopolitical underpinnings. Raoni shares anecdotes, descriptions, and histories that are unique to the Kayapo. He provides recipes for medicines that provide strength to men and contraceptives for women, even potions that can determine the sex of babies. Memoirs of an Indian Chief is a document of cultural heritage and a moving testament to the tenacity of one of the last indigenous tribes in the Amazon basin. Now over eighty years old, Chief Raoni is preparing for his next battle, this one against the Belo Monte dam project, a giant hydroelectric plant to be built in “his” forest. He is not alone in this fight: Supporters include Avatar’s director James Cameron, among others.
Author
Raoni :
Raoni is Chief of the Megkronoti, a dwindling group of the Kayapo Indian tribe that is indigenous to Brazil.
Raoni :
Jean-Pierre Dutilleux :
Jean-Pierre Dutilleux is the Oscar-nominated director of several documentaries, including Raoni: The Fight for the Amazon (1979) and Tribal Journeys (1998), a 13-part television series profiling the world’s vanishing cultures, broadcast in the United States by TLC. With Sting, Dutilleux is the co-author of Jungle Story: The Fight for the Amazon published by Random House in 1989.
Jacques Chirac :
Jacques Chirac is a French politician and the former President of France.
|