Chief Tapi Yawalapiti
Meet Chief Tapi
Activist
Amazon, Brazil
Chief of the sixteen nations of the Xingu Indigenous Territory (TIX)
Tireless and determined, cacique Tapi Yawalapiti is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic contemporary representatives of the fight for the Amazon and its indigenous peoples.
Areas of activity:
Conservation, Community Engagement
About:
The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest, home to unrivalled biodiversity. Its biosphere is essential to life on the planet, and its preservation as one of the Earth's most important carbon sinks has become critical in the fight against the climate crisis.
The Great Xingu River Reserve is located in the geographic center of Brazil. It includes the Kayapo territories and the Xingu Park (TIX). It is one of the world's largest protected natural areas. At around 142,000 km2, it is the size of England and the second-largest indigenous territory in Brazil. Xingu continues to face multiple threats, including fires and illegal logging and mining. Surveillance in the Kayapo and TIX territories requires regular funding for the maintenance and renewal of equipment. In the TIX, many of the indigenous surveillance posts authorized under the Brazilian Constitution and created in the 1990 are no longer operational due to a lack of funding.
Cacique Tapi Yawalapiti, son of the great cacique Aritana Yawalapiti, who initiated the unification of all sixteen TIX peoples before dying of Covid-19, has been appointed from among his peers in 2019 to represent and carry the message of peace of the sixteen TIX peoples around the world.
A graduate in social and environmental sciences from the University of Brasilia, Tapi Yawalapiti embodies the new generation of fighters of the Xingu peoples for the preservation of their ancestral cultures and territories. Tapi Yawalapiti has remained true to his traditions, while working hand-in-hand with Brazilian institutions and international donors to achieve this goal.
During the European campaign in 2019 in favor of the Xingu peoples, Tapi Yawalapiti stood out for the clarity and sobriety of his public interventions and the private audiences he attended with various heads of state. Tapi's speech at the Vatican in October 2019, before an assembly of prelates from around the world at the Synod for Amazonia organized by Pope Francis, was particularly well received.
In 2023, Tapi Yawalapiti was welcomed by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace, as well as by the President of Portugal. He was once again invited to the Élysée Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron, who took the opportunity to renew France's financial commitment to helping the Xingu peoples preserve their territories. Tireless and determined, cacique Tapi Yawalapiti is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic contemporary representatives of the fight for the Amazon and its indigenous
Peoples. As a result of his commitment, he has been asked to take part in the creation of a new ministry for indigenous issues in Brazil's Lula government in 2024. Cacique Tapi Yawalapiti is President of the Aritana Institute.
Involvement:
Protecting the Indigenous Lands of Xingu (Brazil)
The Great Xingu River Reserve is located in the geographic center of Brazil. It includes the Kayapo territories and the Xingu Indigenous Park (TIX), making it one of the world’s largest protected natural areas. Covering around 240,000 km², it is the size of England and the second-largest indigenous territory in Brazil.
However, Xingu continues to face multiple threats, including fires, illegal logging, and mining. Surveillance in the Kayapo and TIX territories requires consistent funding for the maintenance and renewal of equipment. In the TIX, many of the indigenous surveillance posts, authorized under the Brazilian Constitution and established in the 1990s, are no longer operational due to a lack of funding.