Background briefings

Factory Schools


“In school, the teachers call us dirty. They call us pigs and dogs.” Rahman, Orang Asli, Malaysia Today around two million tribal children worldwide are being taught in Factory Schools, where they are stripped of their Indigenous identity and indo...

Deforestation


Fighting deforestation is itself big business From roundtables, to suspect sustainability certificates, to huge international conferences, billions of dollars have been spent trying to save our Earth’s arboreal lungs. But what if the easiest, ch...

There you go!


Around the world ‘development’ is robbing tribal people of their land, self-sufficiency and pride and leaving them with nothing.

... and now for the good news


For centuries, tribal peoples have had their lands stolen and suffered violence and oppression. But things are changing... join us in celebrating some of the reasons for optimism.

Davi Biography


Davi Kopenawa Yanomami is an indigenous leader and shaman from Brazil.

Q&A with Davi Kopenawa


In April 2014 Davi Kopenawa, a shaman and spokesman of the Yanomami tribe, visited the San Francisco Bay Area to talk about the urgent need to safeguard the world’s rainforests for future generations.

A Dangerous Controversy


Uncontacted tribes thrive when their lands are protected. They frequently indicate – by pointing arrows up at passing planes, leaving crossed spears in the forest, and more – that they do not want contact. But some academics are calling for outsid...

Sierra del Divisor: The Watershed Mountains


In the depths of the Amazon lies a region known as the Sierra del Divisor – “The Watershed Mountains” This unique and biodiverse land is home to a number of uncontacted tribes. They are running for their lives from loggers and drug traffickers w...

Yaguareté Porã


Home to the country's last remaining uncontacted Indians and famed for its biological diversity, Paraguay's Chaco forest is being rapidly destroyed by Brazilian company Yaguareté Porã to provide beef for Europe, Russia and China. If the company is...

Tiger Reserves, India


The lives of tribal people across India are being destroyed in the name of tiger conservation. This is illegal under national and international law. And it won’t save the tiger.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana


The Central Kalahari Game Reserve was created in 1961 as a “place of sanctuary” for the Bushmen to live in. Now these Bushmen hunters are being starved off their land in the name of conservation despite diamonds being mined inside the reserve.

Southeast Cameroon


The development of protected areas in southeast Cameroon has progressively robbed the Baka “Pygmies” of access to their ancestral lands. They are regularly harassed, arrested and even tortured by wildlife officers and the soldiers that accompany t...