Internet reaches indigenous people - 9th August 2023

The internet is bringing change to remote indigenous groups in Brazil. Some are unsure of the effects.

The Matsés are one of these groups. They move from place to place and only met the modern world in the 1970s. They still practise hunting and fishing and they wear tattoos on their faces. They live in a village called Nova Esperança, around 500 kilometres from any big town. But now, they can connect to the rest of the world through Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Internet.

Cesar Mayuruna thinks this will improve education in the communities.

Cesar Mayuruna: "We have a dream for the future with this, to be trained as an engineer, civil engineer, geologist, architect. You can be a lawyer. You can be a nurse, work in administration and several areas, chemical engineering, forestry engineering, it will be easier. This is our future dream."

Before, the only way to communicate with these communities was with a two way radio or taking long canoe trips. Now, the municipality has paid for a new network and they want to make it even bigger. But, some Matsés people are worried about losing their culture. The village leaders decided that only teachers, health workers and village leaders can use the internet at night.

Bene Mayuruna leads the General Organization of the Mayuruna people.

Bene Mayuruna: "The internet helps a lot to communicate. But on the other hand, the internet encourages young people not to do traditional activities, not to help their mother. When the mother does activities, like gardening, she calls and they don't go because of the cell phone, because they are watching videos. This is very worrying, isn't it?"

We’re unsure how social media apps and communicating with the outside world will affect indigenous cultures in the future. We'll find out over time.