While looking at the Amazonia exhibition, feathers were a recurrent material found in different artifacts. Among them, the headdress and 3 other feather works, that were “orphan objects”, caught my eye.  This category of “orphan objects” was explained by the exhibition, as artifacts that did not come with a reference.  Different experts from the fields of anthropology, and history have had done research to trace back the origin of these artifacts, but there is no absolute certainty. Furthermore, these objects invite the us to acknowledge our ignorance and also reflect about the colonial aspects in the accumulation of objects of which which we have no knowledge about, those objects whose story cannot be told. “Having objects for display with no information, seems to exclude the people who used them from the conversation”, argues the curator of the exhibit. I found this message to be very powerful, because it reflects on how colonialist relationships have marked so many aspects, and how modesty is a step forward to restore that broken relationship in the process of decolonization.

Both objects belonged to the Kayapo people who consider birds as divine creations, therefore feathers have a very important cultural value. The headdress which was made all of feathers, was brought by the group of people from Canada, including Haida members, that went to support the leader of the Kayapo (Mebengroke). The solidarity between Indigenous groups shows their empathy and the similar struggles they have had in order to preserve their culture and their lands.

These objects made me reflect on the identity of the different indigenous groups and how their culture for many years has been undervalued. There are definitely many parallels between Indigenous groups in Canada and in the Amazon. They both have been victims of history and carry a  legacy of struggle and subordination.

The wisdom and the vision the Indigenous groups have on having a balanced co-existence with nature, is something we all should learn from. Part of the disregard many countries have had is due to the carelessness and the stigmatization of the Indigenous people. The lack of interest and dialogue that has characterized this relationship has been an obstacle in recognising their rights and learning from their culture.

At the same time, the countries that share the Amazon territory have faced these problematic relationship that has been strained for many years, and now are trying to mend. It is difficult to look back on history especially when a  government  is  labeled as the perpetrator. However, the courage to want to have that dialogue should be greater than the animosities from the past.