Yanomami III
meant to be a rant against western consumerism or capitalistic ideals, but rather to point out the absurdity of our dictating the morals of any culture, particularly one that has existed intact thousands of years longer than ours.
Yet, all that is nothing more than a moot and pompous debate. The real question is what do the Yanomami themselves want. The certainly have the right and responsibility to decide form themselves. Our responsibility perhaps is to give them educated choices.
By developing an alphabet and giving the Yanomami a written language anthropologists have contributed to the demise of their traditional culture, but also given them their strongest tool for preserving their identity and cultural integrity.
The Yanomami are becoming educated. They have an almost rabid zeal in learning to read and write in their own language. They want more schools, teachers, books, pencils, blackboards, and reading material. They want to learn Portuguese and basic math. The Yanomami are realizing they have the right to ownership of their land, are organizing politically, addressing their rights to pharmaceutical companies researching on their lands, and demanding book royalties written about them that they have aided in the research of. They've learned that the Brazilian government is responsible for their health care and that their destiny lies with the people in Brasilia, the capital.
Leaders have emerged such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, Levi Hewakaxima Yanomami, and Geraldo Kuesithere Yanomami who work with other indigenous organizations and government agencies to articulate the needs of the Yanomami people and to protect their rights. They are very precise in what they want.
The Yanomami want self-determination but not a breakdown of countries. They are willing to have allegiances both to their own peoples and to the countries in which they reside. They want the right to defend their land, resources, cultures and languages.
Perhaps more than anything at this point, the Yanomami want time. They are not against progress, but they need time to prepare. They need to learn Portuguese, how to negotiate, count properly, and how to understand and talk to white politicians and businessmen before any economic development. They do not want to be cheated.
They also guarantee that the Yanomami who are still unaware of the danger of white laws will be consulted only in the presence of Yanomami leaders who have a good understanding of Portuguese and the way whites think. They also want the right to decide about the use
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