Story

Tupí: A Story of Courage and Determination (Spanish)

Similar to how scars have built up on the bark of the seringueiras (rubber trees) throughout the Amazon, Indigenous people also carry certain wounds from history. The first threat from industry that was imposed on this region at catastrophic proportions was the Rubber Rush (from 1879-1912), which broke the fragile balance between the human and the forest, achieved through centuries of adaptation and symbiosis. The massive extraction of rubber meant the abuse, slavery, and even extermination of entire Indigenous villages.

Read the rest of the story in Spanish on the El Pais website.