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11 villages, located in the state of Acre, Brazil
Noke Koî
Officially recognized Indigenous Territory
Forest Guardians operating since 2025
In the heart of the Amazon, the Noke Koî—also known as the “true people,” speakers of the Noke Vana language and inhabitants of the Campinas Katukina Indigenous Land in Acre, Brazil—have created something powerful: the Atlas da Terra Indígena Campinas Katukina. It looks like a book of maps, but it’s really much more than that. It’s a voice, a memory, and a tool to protect what matters most—their home, their culture, and their future.
The Atlas is a community-built document that brings together Indigenous science, memory, and spatial knowledge. It identifies ecological zones, sacred sites, hunting areas, medicinal plant territories, and waterways across the Noke Koî territory in the state of Acre. Through participatory mapping and storytelling, the Atlas bridges ancestral knowledge with contemporary tools for self-determination.
More than a cultural record, the Atlas is a strategic tool for territorial defense. It highlights environmental threats—such as illegal logging, road construction, and biodiversity loss—and strengthens the community’s capacity for advocacy and self-protection. In this sense, the Atlas functions as a grassroots monitoring initiative, similar to Forest Guardian projects in other regions of the Amazon. Community members identify and report changes in the landscape, helping prevent further ecological damage.
A parallel can be drawn to the work of Chief Dadá Borari in the Maró Territory, in the state of Pará. There, a community-led surveillance network grew from seven to over sixty Indigenous forest monitors. With the use of GPS, cameras, and radio equipment, Dadá and his team document deforestation and prevent invasions. Despite facing violence and persecution, Dadá’s efforts demonstrate how Indigenous leadership, ancestral wisdom, and modern tools combine to defend territories under increasing pressure.
In November 2025, Treesistance were invited to the sacred Noke Koî territory to provide access to justice and territorial defence training. This involved Head of the Forest Guardian program Chief Dadá Borarí with Chief Rosi, Head of Technology Wellington and our Head of Forest Crime Prevention Tim Boekhout van Solinge.
Over the course of 5 days, the communities came together to discuss strategies, safe confrontation techniques, de-escalation and the use of technology. The newly formed guardian group were also given GPS cameras, equipment and uniforms to formalise their activities. The event was a great success with a huge turnout and commitment was made to defend their lands together across the 9 communities. We remain committed to supporting them in this important work.
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