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Uncertainty accessing the world - 9th August 2023

The internet's arrival is changing the lives of Brazil's indigenous communities. This has raised concerns of whether it’ll benefit or harm these communities.

One nomadic tribe, the Matsés, only made contact with the modern world for the first time in the 1970s. They still hunt, fish and wear traditional tattoos. Their home, Nova Esperança, is 500 kilometres from any town. But, a new solar powered antenna linked to Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Internet offers them instant connection to the worldwide web.

Cesar Mayuruna, an Indigenous Municipal Councillor, thinks this will raise their education standards. He believes it's positive for their community's future.

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, communication was difficult with only an unreliable two way radio system or long canoe trips to other villages. The municipality is funding the new network and plans to expand it in the future.

However, for some people, worries remain about how this will affect Matsés culture. The older tribal leaders have decided that only teachers, health workers and village leaders can use the internet after dark.

Bene Mayuruna’s the President of 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?"

Indigenous communities now have access to social media and education websites. We don't know how this will change indigenous cultures in the long run. Only time will tell.

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