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Speaker: Dr John Hemming, author and explorer

Brazil’s indigenous peoples were at a nadir fifty years ago, but are recovering strongly in numbers, protected lands, and pride. But they still face serious political threats, and are grappling with problems in health, education and modern subsistence. John Hemming illustrates the changes from first contacts to computer literacy with stunning photography.

Dr John Hemming has been with forty-five indigenous peoples at all stages of contact. He published a trilogy of books on the history of Brazilian Indians from 1500 to the present, as well as Tree of Rivers, the Story of the Amazon. He was Director of the Royal Geographical Society for twenty-one years and led the Maraca Rainforest Project, the largest European-led research project in Brazil.