Almir surui biography channel

The Surui people of the Brazilian Amazon had their first contact with outsiders in 1969. While the first encounter brought disease and deforestation, later contact helped bring about cultural preservation and environmental protection.

Their tribal leader, Chief Almir, came across Google Earth in 2007 and has since embraced the mapping technology as a way to protect the rainforest and preserve his people's way of living in harmony with the rain forest.

How they did it

When Chief Almir first glimpsed Google Earth on a visit to an Internet café, the indigenous chief immediately grasped its potential for conserving the heritage and traditions of his people.

He invited Google to train his community in recording the stories of tribal elders. Surui tribe members learned to create YouTube videos, geo-tag content and upload it to a “cultural map” on Google Earth in order to share their unique history and way of life with people all around the globe.

Meanwhile, the deforestation of the B