Indigenous knowledge guides dialogue on education and health in the Upper Rio Negro, Brazil

Throughout her journey, she has highlighted the importance of valuing Indigenous wisdom as a foundation for a harmonious and holistic relationship between nature and human beings, particularly in the context of Amazon biodiversity conservation and the protection of traditional ways of life. For her, ancestral knowledge does not belong only to the past, but guides living, current and essential practices for maintaining balance in the contemporary world.

A master's student in Social Anthropology at the Federal University of Amazonas (PPGAS/UFAM), she emphasizes that elders, as guardians of this knowledge, offer profound pathways to understanding the balance of life, the cosmos and the relationships that sustain the forest and its peoples. This knowledge guides practices ranging from care for the body and health to ways of living in harmony with the territory.

"Indigenous science is the only one that can save the world, and receiving this support from non-Indigenous organizations is extremely important for us, as it shows that there are still people who believe in Indigenous science," she states. She also highlighted the importance of Indigenous presence in decision-making and dialogue spaces and identified progress in collective struggles. "Now we are occupying many spaces, showing the importance of always maintaining a relationship of respect with nature, whenever we come into contact with it, because it is an extension of our body. If the forest dies, our body may also die," she says.

She recalls that the concept of health goes far beyond the absence of disease and emphasizes the community, territorial and spiritual dimensions of Indigenous well-being.