The Amazon's Ashaninka tribe restored their territory. Now they aim to change the region

APIWTXA VILLAGE, Brazil (AP) — It was just before dawn when the Ashaninka people, wearing long, tunic-like dresses, began singing traditional songs while playing drums and other instruments. The music drifted through Apiwtxa village, which had welcomed guests from Indigenous communities in Brazil and neighboring Peru, some having traveled three days. As the sun rose, they moved beneath the shadow of a huge mango tree.

The dancing, which would last until the following morning, marked the end of the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory along the winding Amonia River in the western Amazon. The multi-day, nearly around-the-clock festivities included the ritual of drinking ayahuasca, the sacred psychedelic brew, archery tournaments, climbing towering acai palm trees and face-painting with red dye.

What was once a gathering to commemorate the Ashaninka has evolved into a showcase of what they have done: the village’s self-sufficiency, which comes from growing crops and protecting its forest, is now a model for an ambitious project to help 12 Indigenous territories in western Amazon, amounting to 640,000 hectares (1.6 million acres), about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware.

In November, the Organization of Indigenous People of the Jurua River, known by the Portuguese acronym OPIRJ, secured $6.8 million in support from the Amazon Fund, the world’s largest initiative to combat rainforest deforestation. With Apiwtxa as the model, the grant is geared toward improving Indigenous land management with an emphasis on food production, cultural strengthening and forest surveillance.