Indians and the ecology
Even
though they are not 'naturally ecologists', Indigenous people
should be seen as historically capable of having managed natural
resources in a rather non-destructive way, causing very little
environmental disturbances up until the arrival of the European
conquerors.
Different conceptions of 'nature'
Those who think of the Indians as 'natural' beings, innate defenders
of nature, 'naturalists', are just a step away from seeing them
as mere extensions of the environment: for them Indians should
be 'preserved' and kept apart from the 'civilized' world.
This vision derives, however, from a conception of nature that
is proper to the Western world: the idea of nature as something
that should remain untouched, away from human action. What Indigenous
peoples themselves have to say about that is very different though.
The conceptions about nature certainly vary considerably according
to the Indigenous people we look at. However, if there is anything
common to all of them is the fact that nature is always interacting
with human actions, it is never untouched.
The Yanomami, for instance, use the word urihi to refer to the
'land-forest': it is a living entity, endowed with a 'vital breath'
and with a 'fertility principle' of mythical origin. Urihi is
inhabited and enlivened by many spirits, among them the spirits
of the Yanomami shamans, who are also its guardians.
The survival of human beings and the preservation of social life
in what refers, for example, to obtaining food and protection
against diseases, depends on the relationship with these forest
spirits. Thus for the Yanomami nature is a stage from which human
action is not separated.
Even though they are not 'naturally ecologists', Indians are
conscious of their dependence - not just physical, but especially
cosmological - of the environment. Because of this, they use ways
of stewardship of natural resources that have proved to be essential
for the preservation of Brazil's natural forest cover.
That is particularly noticeable in the regions where deforestation
has been advancing at high rates, such as in the States of Mato
Grosso and Rondônia and in the Southern part of the State
of Pará. In a survey carried out by INPE (Instituto Nacional
de Pesquisas Espaciais - National Institute for Space Research),
for instance, Indigenous Lands appear as veritable oasis of forests.
It is true that many Indigenous peoples, such as the Suruí,
the Cinta-Larga and the Kayapó, have become actively involved
in the predatory ways of exploitation of natural resources that
take place in the Amazon Region nowadays by making alliances especially
with timber companies. However, it must be recognized that they
did so while submitted to concrete, continuos, illegal pressures,
and as minority partners in these businesses.
Today and in the future it is necessary to seek mechanisms for
maximizing the chances of the Indians solve in their favor the
problem of their control over extensive lands with low demographic
occupation. One such mechanism is the still incipient combination
of Indigenous projects with non-Indian strategies for the sustainable
use of natural resources, be them public or private.