In the remote village of Nova Esperança in the Brazilian Amazon, an Indigenous person covered in red tattoos that resemble jaguar spots connects to TikTok and laughs while watching a video titled “If I Were Rich.”
The Matsés people have made a leap into modernity with Starlink internet, a connection through the satellite constellation of American billionaire Elon Musk. Thanks to funding from the local government, the signal recently reached the Javarí Valley, where the most isolated indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest reside.
Residents of Nova Esperança gathered to witness the installation of the antenna and solar panel that power it. The process took less than 30 minutes, and workers used a ladder to place the equipment on the roof of the school.
Over 500 kilometers and three days by canoe from any urban area, the 200 inhabitants of this village can now enjoy free internet access, a privilege in this northwestern region of Brazil, located on the triple border with Peru and Colombia.
“Now we have dreams for the future: the ability to train civil engineers, geologists, architects, lawyers, nurses, and other possibilities,” says Cesar Mayuruna, the only indigenous councilor of Atalaia do Norte, the nearest municipality.
However, the connection, which already has about 50,000 users across Brazil, raises concerns for those who protect ancestral traditions. It could also serve criminals who exploit indigenous land without permission.
The Matsés people are one of the seven contacted tribes in the Javarí Valley, the second-largest indigenous reserve in Brazil, where at least 19 indigenous groups still live in voluntary isolation. A nomadic and warrior people, the Matsés began engaging with modernity in the 1970s. Today, they continue to wear bone and ivory facial ornaments, hunt and fish, and some elders have face tattoos.
Internet access will allow Matsés in the area to communicate without having to travel for days and nights by canoe. It will also facilitate the work of the SESAI, the indigenous health agency that serves almost all Javarí communities. In case of an emergency, Starlink will provide a more reliable link than the village’s only radio station.
Despite the benefits, some concerned Matsés remain skeptical. As soon as the antenna was installed, the elders called a meeting to discuss usage rules. They decided on a complete ban on service at night, with exceptions for teachers, healthcare workers, and community leaders. They also reserved the right to turn off the signal during hunting, fishing, and tribal ceremonies.
The community hopes that being online will bring security to the dangerous Javarí River, where illegal fishermen, drug traffickers, and pirates regularly attack indigenous people. However, even criminals are not unaware of Musk’s technology. The Brazilian environmental police (Ibama) seized 11 Starlink kits from illegal miners in the Yanomami indigenous land, about 1,400 kilometers northeast of Javarí.
Maintenance issues also affect the connection, as generators and solar panels are the only sources of power. The Atalaia do Norte city council has pledged to equip all 62 villages in the Javarí region, totaling nearly 6,000 people, before the end of the year. With less than two years until the next local elections, the network also enters the local political game.
Meanwhile, some Matsés wonder about Musk’s interests in the Amazon. Because if they’ve learned one thing about Western society, says an elder from the village, it’s that “with the white people, nothing is free.”
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