Yanomami III
use of natural renewable and non-renewable resources in their own territories. Until these demands are met they want international funding for large scale projects suspended.
The Yanomami are not interested in returning to the time before contact with the west. Nor could they if they did want to. FUNAI (Brazilian Indian Protection Agency) wants them to return to traditional ways of shamanism and sorcery. But shouldn't the choice be theirs? Historically indigenous peoples are never allowed to truly assimilate into the majority culture, but remain marginal, unable to reap the benefits of the consumerism. Racism, poverty, loss of subsistence lifestyle and independence denigrates their lifestyle and lowers their standard of living. So far, the Yanomami have been no exception. They are not being integrated into Western society. Instead begging, prostitution and drunkenness are being introduced into theirs.
As they move into the twentieth century isn't it our place to simply give them the benefit of hindsight we didn't have as we forged our way into the technological world. If we had realized all the consequences of our "progress" would we have chosen it anyway? If we could foresee the urban sprawl, pollution, destruction to the environment, changes in social and family patterns, wrought by the automobile for instance, would we have pursued its development with as much zeal? Perhaps our responsibility to the Yanomami is to show them the consequences of our world and give them a truly informed choice.
We study other cultures to get a better understanding of ourselves. Our ultimate responsibility is to look at what the Yanomami have that we are lacking and see how we might incorporate that into our own lives to enrich it and create a more sustainable environment for ourselves and our children, rather than how we can change theirs.
Latest Articles