Shooting stills and video, Patrick and Sue Cunningham spent six months travelling the length of the Xingu River, in central Brazil. They visited 48 tribal villages, and met people from 17 ethnic groups.
Because the area is home to some of the most belligerent Indians in the Amazon, it has so far suffered less than most from the depredations of modern man.
But the 21st century is bringing intensive threats to the environmental and cultural integrity of the area.
This video, a short extract of a longer documentary, highlights some of the threats, while celebrating the vitality and vibrancy of the diverse traditional tribal cultures found along the length of the river.
The video is a project of the Tribes Alive initiative of Indigenous People's Cultural Support Trust, a non-profit charity registered in England. tribesalive.org or ipcst.org.
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