Amazonian Indigenous Green

Abstract

Drawing from the cultural survival efforts of the Kayapó and the Paiter-Suruí, this chapter traces how indigenous rights and Western environmentalism have shaped each other. At the core of analysis is how, through the different periods of Amazonian activism, indigenous actors have been both framed by and drawn from the notion of the “Ecologically Noble Savage.” The political currency of this reoccurring trope has informed the creation of alliances between indigenous communities and Western eco-conscious actors to “save the rainforest.” While these partnerships have benefited both the “First World” and “Fourth World” actors involved, they have often been built on the false assumptions and divergent agendas. This shifting ground has produced very different environmental discourses over the last 40 years, moving the place of native Amazonians from one of confrontational eco-conscious cultural activists aligned with Green Radicalism to the shared market-based, scientifically validated indicators consistent with Ecological Modernization.