Fotos: Felipe Miranda
The Project Brazil of Cocar* is a broad program by the Alok Institute, comprised of various actions aimed at supporting:
*Cocar is a traditional headdress of the Brazilian indigenous peoples
- the production of music, cinema, and digital communication to expand non-indigenous people’s knowledge of indigenous cultures and their agendas related to the environment and defense of rights;
- the well-being of villages inhabited by indigenous peoples of Brazil (housing, water, agriculture, education for children and youth);
- entrepreneurship among indigenous peoples in arts, technology, gastronomy, fashion, etc., including professional training in technology;
- mobilization actions for promoting and defending rights, often involving the personal and voluntary engagement of Alok as a strategic actor to contribute to raising awareness about issues relevant to the Brazilian indigenous population.
“Bringing the ancestral wisdom of the forest to the world is not only part of my artistic goals but also of my principles as a citizen. Since I came into contact with indigenous cultures, I understood the importance of preserving and disseminating their knowledge and deconstructing concepts, beliefs, and narratives that contaminate the perception that adults and young people in my country, and around the world, have about indigenous peoples. The future can be both technological and sustainable, but for that, we need to listen to the voice of the forest and co-create solutions together with those voices.”
Alok
Fotos: Mila Petrillo, Arquivos pessoais e dos projetos
Strategic Actions
1 – Album The Future is Ancestral
The album The Future is Ancestral is the result of over 500 hours of recordings involving around 50 Brazilian indigenous artists representing eight ethnicities, and the DJ and music producer Alok (president of the Alok Institute). After having been featured at the UN – NY (Climate Week 2022 and 2023), Global Citizen (2022), and Grammy Museum (Los Angeles, USA, 2024) for pre-launch performances, the album was released on April 19, 2024, Indigenous Peoples Day, in Brasília-DF, Brazil. The album “The Future is Ancestral” is a joint creation of the following artists and/or groups (who own 100% of the rights) with Alok:
- Mapu Huni Kuî / Huni Kuin People / AC
- Tashka Yawanawá, Matisini Yawanawá, Rasu Yawanawa and Yawanawá People / AC
- Wyanã Kariri Xocó / Kariri Xocó People / AL
- Owerá / Guarani Mbya People / SP
- Bro MCs / Guarani Kaiowá People / Campo Grande – MS
- Kretã Kaingang / Kaingang Peoples / PR
- Collective of artists / Guarani Nhandewa People / PR
- Célia Xakriabá / Xakriabá People / MG
2 – Native Sound Collection
The Native Sound Collection aims to showcase the beauty of indigenous peoples’ musical culture in Brazil. The album “The Future is Ancestral (co-created between Alok and indigenous artists – see above) is part of the collection containing seven other albums with traditional and contemporary music from different ethnicities (Yawanawa, Huni Kuin, Kariri Xocó, Guarani Kaiowá, Guarani Mbya, Guarani Nhandewa/Kaingang).
The album “The Future is Ancestral” and those included in the Native Sound Collection are contribution from the Alok Institute to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032). The Alok Institute intends to release new albums every year throughout the Decade.
The Native Sound Collection will be launched in the first semester of 2024. Produced by the Alok Institute, the albums will be accessible on streaming platforms, and 100% of the rights belong to the indigenous artists.
Albums/Artists/Ethnicities/States:
- Hiri Shubu Keneya Bari Bay (Mapu Huni Kuin / Huni Kuin – AC)
- Mariri Yawanawa – Saite Kayrau (Yawanawa Saiti Kaya / Yawanawa – AC)
- Cantos dos Encantos Wyanã Nativos Kariri Xocó – Toré (Wyanã Kariri Xocó / Kariri Xocó – AL)
- Nhe’ẽ porã (Owerá / Guarani Mbyá – SP)
- Retomada (Brô MC´s – Guarani Kaiowá – MS)
- Kaingang e Guarani Nhandewa (Kaingang groups – PR and Guarani Nhandewa – PR)
- Kayraw Vimiûû (Rasu Yawanawa and group / Yawanawa People – AC)
3 – Documentary The Future is Ancestral
A documentary capturing the musical creation processes between Alok and the indigenous groups involved in the recording of “The Future is Ancestral” and other albums that make up the Native Sound Collection, produced by Maria Farinha Filmes to expand the audience’s awareness of indigenous peoples’ worldview of art-spirituality-healing. The documentary is in the final stages with an expected release in the second half of 2024, written by anthropologist Célia Xakriabá and Moara Passoni.
4 – Ancestors of the Future Fund
Creation of the philanthropic Ancestors of the Future Fund in partnership with the UN Global Compact – Brazil and WeLight.Co to support projects (i) using technology for the well-being of indigenous communities; (ii) cinema, music, and games produced by indigenous peoples of Brazil; and (iii) the training of young indigenous people in technology. The Ancestors of the Future Fund is a call to companies, individuals, and other social institutions to co-create a sustainable future. The first and only action supported by the Ancestors of the Future so far is the Recode Pro Aldeia project (in partnership with the Recode Network and Instituto E (Osklen)), which promotes technology training (full-stack programming) for indigenous people from across Brazil with technical teaching and development of socio-emotional skills to promote access to the job market and encourage entrepreneurship in the technology field. Indigenous youth from 39 ethnicities and 19 Brazilian states participated. The resources were provided by Instituto E (Osklen) and donations from individuals and buyers of artwork by photographer Gabriel Wickbold. (National)
Financial and Institutional Support:
5 – Voices and Rights
Support for ANMIGA – National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry in continuous strengthening actions, legal assistance, and development of legal and communication strategies for the positioning of indigenous women regarding local, national, and/or global demands. (BR)
6 – Motci (1st Tibira Itinerant Cinema Exhibit)
Supporting the exhibit that highlight the importance of indigenous peoples for the preservation and maintenance of the environment. (RJ)
7 – Indigenous Presence in Universities
Support for the IX and X ENEI – National Meeting of Indigenous Students, an event that has become a reference for collective reflection and mobilization in the context of Higher Education and Intercultural Education. (2022 – SP / 2023 – PB)
8 – Festival Brazil is Indigenous Land
Partnership in the festival held in Brasília (2023) for intercultural dialogue to value, and preserve indigenous culture and also create fundamental partnerships between them. (DF)
9 – V FIFEP (International Ethnographic Film Festival of Pará – 2023)
Support for the festival that exhibits and awards national and international film productions addressing contemporary socio-cultural issues about people, the environment, environmental preservation, and social groups. (PA)
10 – 1st Indigenous Cinema and Culture Festival
Support for the festival held in Brasília in 2022, including the creation of the Ancestral Lens Award for the categories of Best Direction, Best Photography, and Best Screenplay. (DF)
11 – Indigenous Communication
Support for the Indigenous Media collective at the 19th Free Land Camp (ATL – 2023 edition) to create a space focused on communication activities for youth groups from different Indigenous ethnicities. (DF)
12 – Culture and Spirit
Support for workshops on fabric painting, canvases, and murals, as well as basketry in vines, to value the connection of new generations from various Yawanawa villages with their traditional art and culture. (AC)
13 – Food Security
Support for the Mutum village (Yawanawa) in coordinating the donation of a tractor, implements, and technical consultancy to optimize land use for food cultivation. Partnership with Grupo Rezek and Primavera Máquinas. (AC)
14 – Entrepreneurship
Construction of 10 small houses in the Mutum village (Yawanawa) to improve accommodation for participants in cultural festivals and sacred rituals. (AC)
15 – Ayvú Records Studio
Support for the construction of AYVÚ Records studio – a music studio within an indigenous village in Brazil. The purpose is to provide Brô MC’s group (Guarani Kaiowá) with the possibility to create and produce their music. (MS)
16 – Ravê Kosmophonic Studio
Support for equipment acquisition for Owerá’s mobile audiovisual production studio (Guarani Mbya), a prominent figure in native rap and a member of the Krukutu indigenous community. (SP)
17 – Education
Support for editing “O Choro da Mãe Terra” (The Cry of Mother Earth) book by indigenous writer Olívio Jekupe, dedicated to assisting elementary and high school teachers so they can provide students with a reinterpretation of indigenous peoples’ history. (BR)
18 – Food Security
Construction and equipment acquisition for Campo da Fartura restaurant (at the Huwâ Karu Yushibu Center), aiming to preserve and disseminate Huni Kuî culinary culture, as well as providing food to indigenous people outside the villages in the Rio Branco region. Partnership with GasLive Brasil and Cavgna Group. (AC)
19 – Food Security
Dispatch of 3 tons of seeds for agricultural replanting in 18 Huni Kuî villages affected by floods in 2021. (AC)
20 – Healing and Enchanting Chants
Construction of the Wyanã Native Chants Kariri Xocó space, directed by the family of Chief Wyanã Uia-Thê (1970-2022), which works with traditional medicines for self-awareness and ceremonies. (AL)
21 – Urban Encounters
Partnership with the Cantos Nativos group to conduct ritualistic practices in their own space and cultural presentations in schools in São Paulo, creating opportunities for the non-indigenous population to deepen their knowledge and experiences with Kariri Xocó indigenous culture. (SP)
22 – Environment and Food Security
Support for the Zág Institute (Xokleng ethnicity) project of planting 25,000 Araucaria seedlings, one of the main sources of food and medicine for the Xokleng people in the Figueira Village. Support is also provided for the traditional harvest festival. Partnership with the Equatorial Prize – UNDP. (SC)