Chief Raoni Metuktire

Kayapó

Brazil

Chief Raoni Metukire is a leader and environmentalist. The name Raoni is associated with mystery and the power of the Kayapo people. He is internationally famous as a living symbol of the fight for the preservation of the Amazon rainforest and indigenous culture, declared by French President Jacques Chirac. In 1989, accompanied by singer Sting, the Kayapo leader started his travels to many places around the world. When Raoni was 15, he started wearing a labret, an ornamental disk that warriors wear on their lower lip when they want to show they are ready to die for their land. The size of the disk is gradually extended to reach its final size after 4 months. Isolated from the rest of the world until the twentieth century, the indigenous peoples of the Xingu region have fought to orally preserve their traditions for countless generations. Raoni found ways to connect these cultures with the world while keeping appropriate stoicism, distance, and dignity. Although he meets with prominent people in many countries, he lives in a simple hut and owns nothing. The gifts he receives are always redistributed. In September 2011, Chief Raoni was made an honorary citizen of Paris by Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë, and received the medal of the French National Assembly from Nicolas Perruchot of France's National Assembly.