Our Culture

Our grandparents resisted. Following in their footsteps, we too resist.

For our A’uwe people, everything that happens in history also happens in dreams. Through our dreams, we learn the things taught by our river. We learn the things taught by the plants. We learn the things taught by the animals. We learn the things taught by our ancestors.

Not long ago, our grandparents lived around the paths that define our land but dreamt of a different people living to the east. They knew that the waradzu would come to us, and there would be war. To face the waradzu, our grandparents taught us to dream about the river, the plants, and the animals of the savannah. The land gave us the strength to fight for the demarcation of our territories. However, the waradzu built highways and created villages and cities. Our land was divided, our people were split. For us today, it is increasingly challenging to hunt, fish, and collect fruits from the savannah. Our people depend on city products, facing a food and health crisis.

At the Xavante Warã Association, we know that the future of the A’uwe people, and everyone, depends on a thriving savannah, a lively river, and protected land. That’s why we fight for the integrity of A’uwe lands, developing projects to recover degraded areas, protect springs, and value traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, gathering, and rituals. These projects are part of our struggle to keep our culture strong, and for young people to continue learning what our grandparents taught us: to dream about the land and resist as the A’uwe-Xavante people.