The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia has dedicated on of their displays to present an Amazonia exhibit. Curator Nuno Porto has introduced local ceremonial and everyday objects crafted by the local tribes in the Amazon forest. All the objects provide the visual aid when short texts describe the relation between the objects and years of colonization. A Surinam stool was crafted by one of the many local tribes in the Amazon; it’s purpose for everyday use. This object has a place in the exhibition because the material was of great importance for some of the tribes. The wood and tribal traditional techniques later became a great asset for the colonizers; tribal knowledge was taken and used for exploitation of those resources. The Amazonian forest has been an important part of the tribe’s history and way of life. They needed the nature to survive. In the exhibition we see the destruction of the forest and how that forces many of tribes into our western civilization. They must integrate to a culture not suitable for their environment and are encouraged to work for the exploitation of what they call home. Colonizers came and removed both the rights of tribes and the “rights of nature”, which is the mandate of the exhibition. Photo’s in the exhibition displays some of the tribe members with modern clothes and objects. Forced cultural integration leads to an increasing dependency on what we today call modernization. This diverts tribal communities interests from the forest and may lead to the tribes losing that valuable connection and their local traditions. Important knowledge won’t be past down and the forest becomes a resource rather than a space for thriving life. The Surinam stool was a part of a lifestyle that used to support their local traditions but now the forest is exploited and tribes are pushed into change. In Vancouver today we strive to help the indigenous people regain touch with their lost culture but in South America the people are still being hunted and pressured into abandoning their identity, an identity that might be extinct in a couple of years. The exhibit really wants to promote the importance of the restoration of a forest that supports life beyond our imagination, not only the tribal communities but also the species inhabiting the Amazonas. Displays of birds and feathers show the natural beauty that is slowly disappearing, as the forest becomes space for cattle ranching and large plantations. The tribes are some of the last people who embrace the connection between nature and human life, without that connection, we will detach ourselves from natural life. If we don’t support natural resources then climate change will continue to worsen. It’s difficult to imagine all the species and cultures that will be lost if deforestation continues at this alarming rate. The Amazonian exhibition asks you to look at the connections between losing cultures and losing the world’s largest sight for biodiversity.

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