When news broke of a “foreign” virus in early March, Indigenous leaders in the 6.5 million-acre territory that is home to more than 7,000 people from 16 different groups promptly mobilized to try to keep the disease at bay. The Kuikuro, who make up about 10 percent of the overall population of the territory, have managed to lessen the spread—in part, thanks to the innovative use of technology. In collaboration with a transnational collective of researchers and social scientists, the Kuikuro Indigenous Association of Upper Xingu, or AIKAX, has developed a community-level contact-tracing system to monitor who is coming in and out of the Ipatse village, as well as potential coronavirus cases.
Photo Credit: Mateus Campos Felipe