Brazil's Maxakali people comprise 2,500 individuals confined to four small reserves taken over by pasture, a tiny fraction of their original territory. All face hunger, disease and high mortality rates. And the rivers are contaminated by the surrounding farms’ waste, forcing them to rely on wells that contain dangerously high levels of heavy metals.

The Atlantic Forest that once covered their territory is now reduced to 17% of its original extent. For the Maxakali, the forest is vital — as a source of food (they’re hunters) and as the home of the spirits they believe in. Climate change has worsened their situation, intensifying the fires in northeastern Minas Gerais state, the region with the highest temperatures in Brazil.

Yet this is a story of resilience: despite the devastation of their physical territory, the Maxakali have preserved their spiritual territory, maintaining their unique language and cosmology. It’s a story of hope too, thanks to a project that trains Indigenous agroforestry agents to restore the Atlantic Forest — reviving the spirits that dwell there and providing food for both humans and non-humans.