AT THE EDGE OF CONQUEST: THE JOURNEY OF CHIEF WAI-WAI, 1992. What activities do the Waiãpi use to express and maintain their traditional culture and beliefs? Do economic activities as well as rituals play a role in this? What is the purpose of the Fish Dance? Why do the Waiãpi believe that they have the right to claim the lands they occupy? Until recent times the Waiãpi have avoided contacts with outsiders. What events have caused them to have greater interaction with outsiders? Why do the Waiãpi want the government to demarcate a boundary around their lands? What events have caused their need to negotiate with representatives of the Brazilian government? Why is the demarcation of their land so important to them? What will happen, according to Chief Wai-Wai, if they do not secure the lands they need? What are the long-term implications of the government's plan to designate portions of Waiãpi land as National Forest? How are Waiãpi leaders adapting to the changes increased contact with outsiders is bringing to their society? Why does Wai-Wai feel it is necessary to make a trip to Brasília, the nation's capital? What are the objectives of this trip? What is an anthropologist? What is the anthropologist's role in the Waiãpi leaders' visit to Brasília? Why is it so important, according to the Waiãpi leaders, to keep miners out of certain areas? How do the Waiãpi leaders propose the government should deal with the issue of mining in areas within and adjacent to their land? Do you think their proposal is reasonable? Do you think the various government representatives engaged in sincere efforts to negotiate with the Waiãpi leaders? What things in the city impressed Wai-Wai and the other leaders during their visit to Brasília? What did they admire? What did they think was strange? What scenes of Wai-Wai and the other leaders made you laugh? Can you explain why these scenes struck you as funny? The Brazilian Indian Agency (FUNAI) representative states his belief that once Indians are exposed to Western things, they no longer have the ability to maintain their own culture. The use of Western material objects, he says, causes Indians to lose their identity. What signs of Western culture in contemporary Waiãpi life did you notice in the film? Do you think that the presence or use of these things makes the Waiãpi not Waiãpi? Do you think traditional practices and Western things can exist side by side? What evidence did you see of this in the film? What, according to the Brazilian Indian Agency (FUNAI) representative, are the implications of the Waiãpi's use of violence to expel miners from areas they claim? [OR, What will happen, according to the Brazilian Indian Agency (FUNAI) representative, if the Waiãpi forcibly begin to expel miners from areas they claim?] How does he believe the use of violence will influence the ways that outsiders perceive the Waiãpi? How did the Waiãpi leaders respond to this line of reasoning? Have they used violence in the past? What do you think of the fact that the Waiãpi now engage in mining themselves? How have they used the profits from their mining ventures? How did the Waiãpi leaders feel about the way they were treated in their meeting with those responsible for making the final decision about their lands? How did you feel about this encounter? What was the outcome of the meeting? How would you characterize the Indians' overall experience in Brasília with representatives of various government agencies? How do you think the leaders felt about their trip? Was it worthwhile? Here, provide information about the eventual outcome of Waiãpi efforts to secure their land.