The Territory brings an indigenous voice to the digital age, to document an ancient and dire conflict. Released by National Geographic and directed by Alex Pritz, the film was shot in concert with an Uru-eu-wau-wau film team. The Uru-eu-wau-wau have been using the technology to document the illegal logging, mining, and theft of their land. They were first contacted in 1981 and disease decimated their population. The situation in the Amazon mirrors the American west a few generations ago. The Uru-eu-wau-wau number 183 and their film crews patrol a territory triple the size of Delaware.
On the banks of the river, the film group forms a circle before they go on patrol. They all wear matching shirts with the word Vigilancia written in yellow. 18 year old Bitate says they are experiencing the same struggle their ancestors did, but now they have different tools. Along with bows and arrows, they prepare cell phones, cameras, and drones. The film is worth watching if only to see a group of teenage natives in screen printed T-shirts and war paint arrest an intruder at arrow point, tell him he needs a face mask, spray his hands with hand-sanitizer, and vlog it.
Producer Gabriel Uchida told the panel that he was drawn to the film while trying to make a project about war. The Territory documents a war that indigenous teenagers have been forced into. With the help of the digital age, they’re fighting with control over their narratives. When Bitate spoke on the panel, the translator used the word strengthen when Bitate described how filmmaking would help his tribe.
The visuals are a welcome reminder of what National Geographic does best. The shapes and colors of the rainforest are as captivating as ever. The documentary also relies on interviews with those who are slowly destroying the Amazon. Intrepid farmers, surrounded by burnt trees, calmly stake their claim to the land in quasi religious terms. It might seem odd that the documentary got access to the same group they’re exposing. Alex Pritz explained that it was easy to speak with the farmers if you were American. Their belt buckles and cowboy hats communicate a clear admiration for the American colonial project.
Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been touted as a Latin American Trump. At the beginning of the film Bitate watches a campaign speech where he tells an enthused audience, “There won’t be one more inch of indigenous reservation.” The Uru-eu-wau-wau territory is located in Rondonia, where he received almost 80% of the vote. Many Brazilian activists have been murdered during his presidency. The film documents a threat against the daughter of Nedinha, an activist and another protagonist. Nedinhia is a fierce defender of the Amazon. Along with Bitate, Alex, and indigenous activist Txai, she spoke on the panel after the film. She explained that Uru-eu-wau-wau territory was not just another random swath of jungle. Their territory hosts over 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Protecting the Amazon is a matter of protecting our planet.