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DANCING WITH THE LAND THE POLE-TO-POLE PROJECT

For every tree burned, for every piece of forest destroyed, our bodies are also violated. This quote said in 2021 by Shirley Krenak, a member of the Krenak Indigenous people in Brazil, confirms what researchers from different disciplines have written about the crucial relationship between the land, the Indigenous conception of the body and the way colonialism has affected and still affects this disconnection. The body has such an important place in the Indigenous cultures that it is one of the four pillars of the Indigenous concepts of health, healing, and harmony. These concepts are expressed in the Indigenous Medicine Wheel, in which we can find four aspects of humanity: Body, Mind, Emotion, and Spirit. Pole to Pole Connections Involving Indigenous Dance, Body/Land and Intergeneration in the Americas takes a Trans-American approach in connection with Indigenous peoples from the South of Argentina to the North of Canada. As a “umbrella project”, Pole-to-Pole has covered various themes related to Indigenous peoples in the arts, health, culture, education, and social justice. The project is also expanding into broader and more strategic networks and themes for the sustainable development goals of the United Nations for 2030, such as solutions for climate justice and access to education for marginalized populations. One of Pole-to-Pole’s branches is the research Arts-Based Climate Artivism funded through the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil.