A Documentary By

YAKOANA is the authorized documentary of The First World Conference of Indigenous Peoples held in the jungles of Brazil the week prior to the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro June 1992. Attended by nearly 1000 Tribal leaders from every continent on earth. YAKOANA captures the stories, music, ceremony and dance of this historic gathering. YAKOANA tells the stories of Native cultures, of their struggle for recognition and human rights, and of their ancient ways of living sustainably and in harmony with the earth. It presents the Indigenous People's world view which sees humanity as part of the sacred web of nature.

ya/ko/an/a n. dust from the resin of the virola elongata tree used by Yanomami Shamans in ceremony to enable them to perceive the breath of the planet, the song of the earth.

"This life code that no scientist has
ever managed to unveil rests with
the Indians. You don't have to look
any further.

Are you prepared for that? Is the
contemporary world prepared for what we want to convey after 500
years of silence?"

Indigenous Leader Marcos Terena Breaks "500 Years of Silence"

For the sake of the planet both Terena and YAKOANA offer the hopeful message that Indigenous Peoples wish to share their earth- and spirit-based wisdom with contemporary societies.

The only Indigenous person to speak at the UN Earth Summit, Terena was selected by the ninety two Native Nations in attendance at the unprecedented First World Conference of Indigenous People to represent their struggles and earth-based view. YAKOANA is the only authorized documentary of this Indigenous meeting.

In the true spirit of forgiveness and constructive ness, Terena's speech and other global Indigenous voices in YAKOANA reach out compassionately to assist modern societies with their social and envi ronmental problems. They leave us with the inspiring message that Tribal People are willing to give their time and wisdom to our civilization.

"We the Indigenous Peoples are moving towards the future along the trails left by our forefathers," says Terena. -This is our culture. This is our strength, the spiritual strength that mankind is loosing...Don't play with the spirit," he warns us, "Your spirit is holy. Your spirit is sacred. It is your strength. Not anybody else's strength."

"Indigenous Peoples are united by a circle of life," declares Terena, one that the contemporary world does not understand. "It's a circle of life that circles the Earth, waters, the air, what you call ... the environment."

"The temple of centuries old wisdom, the life code that no scientist has ever managed to unveil rests with the Indians," he claims. 'You don't have to look any further or research any further or spend millions of dollars on new research."

'We do not have slums .... We do not have psychiatric hospitals in our villages," notes Terena. "We practice sustainable development. For us, this has been a daily routine in our lives."

'We who believe are most familiar with nature ... you must become our allies. Do not fear us because the future of the Indians is your future too. And it is also the future of the planet."

Profits from YOKOANA go to Indigenous Communities.