Summary of Indigenous Media - Is it hurting more than it is helping their cause?

This article reviews the use of modern media, and video in particular, as a communication tool for the Kayapo tribe, an indigenous community from Brazil. Their cultural practices and unique customs are presented within a dialogue that the author uses as a way to debate the positive and negative implications of modern media.

The author brings to the discussion the viewpoints of several professors of media. One professor, Ginsburg states the film "...illustrated that modern technology has become an important tool that has been used to resist the dominant cultures in many different countries." Ginsburg refers to the use of video for indigenous and minority people as a means for opening communication channels outside the community as well as assisting with "self-determination, and resisting "outside cultural domination."

According to Ginsburg, media helps indigenous groups because "the capabilities of media to transcend boundaries of time, space, and even language are being used effectively to mediate, literally, historically produced social ruptures and to help construct identities that link past and present in ways appropriate to contemporary conditions..." She also points out that video is a way to preserve traditions so future generations have a reference for how traditions were carried out.

The article raises the issue of whether or not western media should be considered positive or negative. Some scholars believe that there is a negative effect and that the “content and hegemonic control of mass media irreversibly erode traditional languages and cultures, replacing them with alien social values and an attraction to Western Consumer goods.” Modern technology can be a valuable tool as well, when for example, the use of media offers a platform for a group to present its interests to the outside. In such a manner, an indigenous culture can mobilize energy within its group while raising the consciousness of the dominant culture. Tapes of cultural practices, demonstration and meetings and other forms of resistance each contribute to the tribe asserting their place within society. Media provides an opportunity for outside cultures to become better educated and informed as well as a chance to change opinions. It helps bridge cultural gaps.

The Kayapo recognise that their use of technology allows some of the western culture that they resist to infiltrate their own culture. While partaking in mass media can lead to an erosion of cultural customs, the tribe ultimately determines how much they are willing to sacrifice and how they attain a balance between retaining their own culture and using western culture for their own benefit. Modern media is a risk and an opportunity to shape a mesage and for self-expression.

The author concludes by stating, "in terms of the sacrifice that these cultures are making the key seems to be moderation. Indigenous society is one step ahead in the fact that they are, for the most part, fully aware of the implications of bringing this technology into their world. Therefore, it should be a safe assumption to say that they are probably being extremely cautious in how much they allow Western media to infiltrate their life."

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