July 07, 2020
By Ross Purnell
I first read about the Kayapo people in National Geographic. The story explained how this primitive, indigenous group in Brazil resisted construction of a dam and reservoir on the Xingu River. The tribe had no money or industry, but they still refused to sell their piece of the Amazon rainforest.
The Kayapo leaders wrote a letter that spoke to me as a fly fisher. It read: “We do not want a single penny of your dirty money. We do not accept Belo Monte or any other dam on the Xingu. Our river does not have a price, the fish we eat do not have a price, and the happiness of our grandchildren does not have a price.”
I was impressed by their foresight...
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