Village of Kumanã, Valley of Javari Indigenous Territory, State of Amazonas, Brazil, 2018.
Javari Valley, Marubo Indigenous Territory, state of Amazonas, Brazil, 2018. The current Marubo population is just over 2,000 people. The Javari Valley Indigenous Territory that they inhabit is one of the largest in Brazil, measuring 8.5 million hectares (21 million acres) and is home to several other ethnic groups: Korubo, Matis, Matsés, Katukina, and a variety of isolated groups. More than a century of coexistence with nonindigenous people is reflected in Marubo children's education, and learning Portuguese well is an important part of growing up there. This is why many of them end up becoming translators and intermediaries in interactions with government employees (such as nurses at indigenous health posts) and to support indigenous organizations' activities, notably through ongoing participation in expeditions to contact other ethnic groups in the region. Since the 1990s, the region has recorded high rates of hepatitis infection. Documenting the fight against disease was the reason for my first visit to the region in 1998, followed by another visit in 2018.
