An interview with Amasina, a shaman in the Amazon rainforest (fwd link)

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An interview with Amasina, a shaman in the Amazon rainforest
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
July 28, 2008

Deep in the Suriname rainforest, an innovative conservation group is working
with indigenous tribes to protect their forest home and culture using
traditional knowledge combined with cutting-edge technology.

The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is partnering with the Trio, an Amerindian
group that lives in the remote Suriname-Brazil border area of South America, to
develop programs to protect their forest home from illegal gold miners and
encroachment, improve village health, and strengthen cultural ties between
indigenous youths and elders at a time when such cultures are disappearing even
faster than rainforests.

ACT is providing the Trio with equipment and training so that "indigenous park
guards" can map — and thereby someday gain title — to their lands. The Trio use
GPS units to document geographic features as well as the location of hunting
grounds, places of spiritual significance, and sites rich with medicinal plants
and other important resources. Key to the process is bridging the generational
gap between indigenous elders and youths: the shamans provide the younger
rangers with the historical and cultural information needed to add critical
details to the maps. In addition to mapping, the indigenous park guards patrol
forest areas for illegal activities, including mining and collection of
wildlife for the pet trade.

Access full article below:
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0728-act_amasina_interview.html