The Territory: Fighting for the future of the Amazon Rainforest

What happens when a tiny band of indigenous people in one of the most remote regions of Brazil faces the destruction of their life and land? They turn to video, drones and smartphones.

That’s the dramatic story of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau in National Geographic’s critically-acclaimed documentary “The Territory.” This gripping story documents the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau defending their ancestral home from white settlers, supported by the Brazilian state, seeking to illegally slash and burn the forest and turn it into pasturelands. Here, the camera stars as a secret weapon. It’s not only there to document encroaching white settlers. It’s also a tool the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau use to defend their home.

“I was struck by how, in a funny way, the film dramatizes what we’re all about,” says illuminAid Executive Director Matt York. “We’re equipping isolated groups to survive through tailor-made video.”

In the National Geographic film, the two clashing visions for the future of the Amazon rainforest lay bare as the film shows images of the forest being chopped down. This is accompanied by the sound of electric chainsaws and machinery clearing out vast areas for cattle and farming.

Bitaté, a young leader for his people, works with other Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau members to set up drones and additional cameras to document illegal settlers in their home. There’s a distinctive disconnect in watching the villagers take matters into their own hands, capturing proof of the encroachment on their land that the government chooses to ignore. The camera not only functions as a tool for policing gains by documenting territory, but it provides the means to build and expand a network of effective and strategic alliances.

The troubling, though entertaining, scenario is not lost on York. “It’s fascinating how the primitive Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau became a cause célèbre trying to carve out their survival,” says York. “We’re helping indigenous people with essential humanitarian needs who need additional exposure … and support!”