I strolled casually into the Museum of Anthropology with my headphones pulsating in my ears only to be transported into the intriguing and appealing depiction of international cultures. I was immediately pulled into the both sad and surreal reality that indigenous Amazonian people face. Not only are their materials a polar reflection of those that western civilsations rely on, but the general lifestyle and capability difference is particularly interesting. The attention and care that was used in the creation of Amazonian baskets, headdresses, weapons and household objects portrays the appreciation of hard work and impressive tactile abilities. When Western lifestyle of large buildings and 20 minute traffic faces the creative, simple and resourceful Amazonian lifestyle there is a remarkably distinct division in social standards, and human relationship with nature.
A day in the life of a Western teenager, in comparison to that of a young Amazonian would have an entirely contradictory lifestyle. With Brazil bring the nation in which Amazonian people are located it is home to more than 80 uncontacted indiginous groups, and with that, a more primary and animalistic structure. Instead of ordering ‘skip the dishes,’ or phoning their local pizza place, native Amazonians survive entirely off of hunting, gathering and untilizing their surrounding crops and animals. As Western consumerism seeps into the roots of Amazonian people, we find both new artefacts like the blow gun from the native hunting group, Yerba Masā. Unlike Western food consumption, where quanitity is more significant than quality, and equality; Amazonian hunting style included the use of entire plants for remedies and teas, understanding of animals and their wellbeing, and a specified knowledge regarding the area and ecology.
Though the values and traditions of Amazonians don’t necessarily compare to those of advanced, westernized countries, there is an interesting correlation to heirachy of land. For Amazonians, land is their life and they must respect one anothers proper area. In these vulnerable areas, where they face the loss of land, many Amazonian groups are dying and suffering at the hands of outside explorers and tourists. For Vancouver, there has been a steady climb on the pricing of housing, driving many local Vancouverites out of their hometowns. Though there is not a direct correlation between the two, the inability for the general public to thrive and inhabit a constant, reliable shelter is continually an issue that both socieites face.