How the friendship between the Amazon CEO and the Belgian filmmaker evolved into accusations

It is considered one of the most fruitful partnerships between indigenous chiefs and Westerners in the world.

For five decades, the Amazonian tribal leader and Belgian film director has invited presidents and royals, including Pope Francis, to improve the lives of Brazil's indigenous people and protect their lands. The couple befriended celebrities and movie stars. Music legend Sting is one of their greatest supporters.

Just a few months ago, their relationship seemed as strong as ever. Chief Raoni Metukettier wears his iconic lip plate and emerald feather crown, and tuxedo-clad filmmaker Jean-Pierre Diethier attends the Cannes Film Festival to promote the latest Belgian documentary, Raoni: An Unusual Friendship. Standing on the red carpet, in a burst of flashing lights, the two clasped hands like old friends.

Behind the scenes, however, the relationship is nearing its end. Shortly after his return to Brazil in May, the leader of the Kayapo tribe severed ties with his Belgian assistants.

Raoni and his closest people told The Associated Press that they had long distrusted Diethiele and suspected that the filmmaker had failed to cash in on the money raised for "Kayabo." They also accused Diethile of using the sheikh's image and reputation to boost his influence and film career.

"My name was used to raise money," Raoni said in an interview with The Associated Press in Brasilia. "But Jean-Pierre didn't give me much. ”

The tribal leader, two other members of his nonprofit Raoni Institute, and Mr. Raoni's successor all said Mr. Diethier had repeatedly promised them large sums of money to fund social projects, but had delivered only a fraction of them. He also refused to make public the money he had raised in Raoni's name during their European trip, as well as his books and films about the Kayapo people, they said.

Diethier denied any wrongdoing and reiterated that he had never touched the money.

"He sometimes says things like that, and it's about age. In an interview with The Associated Press in Paris, Dietiler, 74, said: "Maybe I'm going to say something stupid too. He added that money "is not of interest to me." I'm a filmmaker, I'm an artist. I'm not an accountant. ”

Although Callapau's suspicions have lasted for almost 20 years, Raoni's inner circle believes he will not abandon Dietil. The decision, they say, is rooted in centuries of power imbalances that exist when an indigenous tribe collaborates with an influential "kuben." "Kuben" is the Kayabo term for white people.

Raoni was born sometime in the 30s of the 20th century – no one knows the exact year – in the Metukettier branch of the Kayapo tribe. By that time, after nearly three decades of brutal exploitation of the indigenous population, the first rubber boom in the Amazon had come to an end.

His family and tribesmen are semi-nomadic people who hunt and fish daily in the Niguhe Valley of the Amazon, an area the size of France and home to dozens of indigenous tribes.

They first came into contact with Kuben in 1954. By then, Raoni was already a charismatic warrior and shaman, and he was respected for his political acumen and bravery in the fight against rival tribes and those who sought to exploit their resources.

He learned to speak Portuguese – but could not read or write – and became his tribe's main interlocutor with the outside world, as well as the main voice for the protection of indigenous rights in Brazil.

By the 70s of the 20th century, Brazil's military dictatorship was putting increasing pressure on indigenous peoples, and in order to develop the Amazon, Brazil built highways, sponsored colonial projects, and provided generous subsidies to farmers. Raoni and others are doing everything they can to stop the destruction of their ancestral lands.

This is also when Raoni saves Dietille.

Born into a middle-class family in a Belgian provincial town, Diethile dreamed of distant landscapes and flew to Brazil at the age of 22, where he would direct an ethnographic film about indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest.

There, a group of Kayapo tribesmen mistook him for a road construction worker who usually brought death and disease to the area and threatened to kill him. Raoni intervened to stop any violence, and the two became friends.

A few years later, Diethier returned to Xingu to make a documentary about shamans. Diethiler persuaded Marlon Brando to voice the American version, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1979. The film's success made Raoni one of the leading figures among the indigenous peoples, and Diethile became his janitor.

Almost immediately, some advocates and Kayapo leaders began to worry that Diethil was more interested in profiting from Raoni than in helping the cause of indigenous peoples.

One of those who was skeptical of Diethile was Spanish photographer Alexis de Vilar, who founded the Tribal Life Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting indigenous peoples.

The Tribal Life Foundation sponsored the U.S. premiere of the documentary and hosted a gala at the Mann Chinese Theatre, a landmark venue in Hollywood. Hosted by Jon Voight and Will Sampson, stars of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," the formal ceremony attracted a group of A-listers.

"The whole of Hollywood was there," Devillar recalled. With some guests paying thousands of dollars for a ticket, Devillar expects his nonprofit to raise at least $50,000, which Tribal Living Fund has said will be used to fund various social programs.

But the Tribal Life Fund did not receive the money. Devillar said Diethile had been in charge of collecting tickets but had never handed over a penny. "There's no money, not even money to build a school," Devillar said.

Diethier insisted that the gala did not generate any profits.

Ten years later, Diethier introduced the indigenous chief to Sting, the former frontman of the band "The Police" – an encounter that made Raoni an even bigger celebrity. After a concert in Rio de Janeiro, Sting went to the Amazon and became a passionate ally of Raoni and the Callabos. He and Diethier founded the Rainforest Foundation, a non-profit organization that continues to promote forest conservation around the world.

In 1989, Sting put down his guitar and traveled the world with Raoni and Diethiele, focusing on the plight of indigenous peoples. Their efforts largely contributed to the Brazilian government's recognition – and theoretically its protection – of the Menkragnoti indigenous territory, which covers an area of 5 million hectares (19,000 square miles).

Despite the victory, the trio have fallen out.

Diethier was kicked out of the Rainforest Foundation after Sting accused the filmmaker of trying to profit from the charity by collecting royalties from a book about their tour. According to the cover of the book, these royalties should go to the indigenous peoples.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Diethier said his relationship with Sting broke down because they had "different visions."

Dutilleux continues to raise money under Raoni's name through Association Forêt Vierge, one of several non-profit organizations he and Sting founded to receive donations during their world tour. Diethier served as president from 1989 to 1999 and has since served as "honorary chairman."

In 1991, Diethier organized a campaign in Europe to raise $5 million to create a huge Brazilian national park that would be protected three times the size of Belgium.

He told a Belgian newspaper that the project was conceived by a director of Brazil's indigenous agency.

But Brazilian official Sydney Possuelo denied any involvement in the operation. He called Dietille's plans for the park "stupid" and called its calculations "ridiculous."

Possuelo, 83, a globally renowned expert on isolated tribes, told The Associated Press that he believes Dutilleux is "harmful to indigenous peoples."

"He's a white food eater," he added. For him, indigenous issues are a business. Every time he appears, he's taking advantage of someone like Raoni. ”

Raoni did not participate in the tour, and it is unclear how much money Diethier raised. Diethile told the Associated Press that the event was canceled and blamed Pozuelo's criticism for its failure.

Despite the setbacks, Dietier returned to Singu – "the heart of my tribe", in his words. During his visits to Raoni and other indigenous tribes, Diethier tried to get them involved in new fundraising offers, whether it was a book, a film or a tour.

"He's always taking advantage of him," said Raoni's nephew, Sheikh Megaron txucarram<e:1>.

Megaron is likely to be Raoni's successor, saying that he has repeatedly advised his uncle not to work with Dutilleux. "Every time he travels with him, this opacity comes up," Megaron said. ”

Raoni has repeatedly confronted Diethile over the arrears. In 2002, then-French President Jacques Chirac visited Brazil and pledged to help establish the Raoni Institute. After this, Raoni submitted a petition to the Brazilian prosecutor demanding that measures be taken to prevent the flow of funds to Brazil through Dietil. The complaint went unanswered, drowning in the mire of an overloaded justice system in the Amazon.

After Diethile offered to write a biography of Raoni, the two reconciled. Raoni's biography was published in 2010. That year and in 2011, they began touring to promote the book and raise money for the Kayapo tribe.

At the time, the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam was under construction, raising concerns among indigenous communities that it would dry up large swaths of the Hingu River.

For decades, Raoni and other tribal leaders have been actively opposing the dam's construction, saying it would displace tens of thousands of people.