Closer to the Sky Protecting a worldview that integrates human
beings with their non-human parents in the universal order.
Ailton Krenak is a charismatic leader of the Krenak people in
Brazil, an ethnic group who seemed to be on the verge of
extinction in the 1950s. Fortunately, their population has since
recovered to around 450 people spread throughout three Brazilian
states. Ailton has revived the Tarú Andek (literally meaning
‘getting closer to the sky’), an annual celebration that
reunites the widely dispersed Krenak people so that they can
practise the rituals of their sacred sites. This is part of an
ongoing process to strengthen their culture. Ailton believes
that protecting and reviving rituals linked to sacred sites is
at the heart of any work to strengthen the resilience of
Indigenous communities. Ailton was awarded the Onassis
International Prize in 1990 for bringing together Indigenous
peoples and rubber tappers for the protection of the forest. How
do sacred sites relate to the wider landscape? S