Tashkã Yawanawá

Born in the Caxinaua village of the Indigenous Territory of Gregory River, Brasil, Tashkã is a leader in the indigenous movement to secure ancestral wildlands to save traditional cultures, and devise sustainable livelihoods.

Nacido en el pueblo de Caxinaua dentro del Territorio Indígena del río Gregorio, Brasil, Tashkã es un líder del movimiento indígena para proteger tierras silvestres ancestrales a fin de salvar las culturas tradicionales e idear medios de vida sustentables.

He reversed a serious cultural deterioration of his people by securing 200,000 ha of ancestral rainforest on which the tribe now lives sustainably.   With his wife, Laura (a Zapotec leader from Mexico), he founded the “Nawa Institute for Indigenous People,” which defends and protects indigenous traditional knowledge, artistry and ceremony;  and the Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Youth Alliance, which builds alliances between young people of all backgrounds. Tashkã and Laura consolidated the relationship between the Yawanawa people and Aveda Corporation, and played a leading role in the subsequent Yawanawa Cooperative, which manages the tribe’s relationships with commercial partners, setting a precedent for indigenous leadership and partnership with corporations.

Revirtió el grave deterioro cultural de su pueblo al asegurar 200,000 ha de selva tropical ancestral donde ahora vive la tribu de manera sustentable.  Con su esposa Laura (una líder zapoteca de México), fundó el Instituto Nawa para el pueblo indígena, el cual defiende y protege los conocimientos, la artesanía y las ceremonias indígenas tradicionales; y la Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Youth Alliance, que forja alianzas entre jóvenes de orígenes de toda clase. Tashkã y Laura consolidaron la relación entre el pueblo Yawanawá y la Aveda Corporation, y desempeñaron un papel destacado en la subsecuente Cooperativa Yawanawá que administra las relaciones de la tribu con socios comerciales, sentando un precedente en cuanto a liderazgo y alianzas indígenas con empresas.