• Update May 2013: This film is no longer being broadcast as part of the Global Spirit series. However, the DVD is available through the series website under the title From the Heart of the World.

Host Phil Cousineau is convinced that in these times of climate change and drastic environmental problems, indigenous peoples have wisdom to offer us based on their closeness to nature and their survival skills.

This installment of Global Spirit revolves around a 1991 documentary From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers' Warning directed by Alan Ereira. He offers some commentary as well. This BBC filmmaker went to visit the Kogi, a tribe living in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern Columbia in the same way their ancestors did before the Europeans came. They see themselves as guardians of life on Earth and are governed by priests called "mamas." The Kogi refer to themselves as The Elder Brothers. They are anxious because we, the Younger Brothers, have mangled and damaged the earth through industrial exploitation, mining, and clearing of forests. Unless we change our ways, they say, the world will end: "If we act well, the world can go on."

Eighteen years ago, this documentary provided a wake-up call for the Western world and its belief in progress. Now it is more relevant than ever.

To Continue This Journey:

  • Share your responses to the Kogi and their understanding of the natural world. What did you find most interesting about their way of life? What do you think lies behind their deep respect for the Earth and its manifold mysteries? What lies behind our domineering view of the Earth? What personal steps can you take on a daily basis that would lessen the chance of an environmental catastrophe the Kogi say we are creating?