Kayapo people

The Kayapo (Portuguese: Caiap) people are the G-speaking native peoples of the plain lands of the Mato Grosso and Par inBrazil, south of the Amazon Basin and along Rio Xingu and its tributaries. In 2003, their population was 7,096.

Land control and environmental issues

Using global media and international attention, they have established political power over their own land. At one time, mining and logging threatened to destroy the rainforest, and thus their way of life. In retaliation, the Kayapo people used forceful tactics to banish loggers andminers in some areas, as well as establish themselves as an economic force. Later, they were again threatened by secretive government plans to build a series of hydro-electric dams on their land. Under the leadership of Paulinho Paiakan, the Altamira Gathering was orchestrated by the Kayapo, drawing media attention worldwide. This demonstration, staged at the planned site for the first dam in Altamira, Par, lasted several days and brought much pressure upon both the World Bank and the Brazilian government.

Botany and agriculture

The Kayapo people use shifting cultivation, a type of farming where land is cultivated for a few years, after which the people move to a new area. New farmland is cleared and the old farm is allowed to lie fallow and replenish itself.
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The Kayapo get medicine from 650 different plants that they find around their village.[7] They have trade agreements with The Body Shop.