Tashka and Laura Soriano YawanawáSpeaker and Booking Agent Information

Tashka, the son of a previous Yawanawá chieftain, saw as a young child as the New Tribes Mission and the push of commercial interests nearly wiped out his culture. He traveled to other native villages while studying in the US.

Together with other tribal leaders in the Amazon, he is attempting to give indigenous peoples back their sense of self-worth, identity, and a sustainable economic future based on their principles, cultures, and definitions of success. Around the world, Laura Soriano Yawanawá strives to support indigenous tribes.

When indigenous Brazilian activist Tashka Yawanawá and Mixteca-Zapoteca activist Laura Soriano met in 1998, they recognized they were both, in different ways, bridge walkers between two cultures. The couple got married and founded the Nawa Institute to help native communities.

Now, they visit indigenous communities worldwide to establish connections with them, identify problems, and provide tribes and groups with solutions that work for them, focusing on the economic and cultural regeneration of contemporary indigenous communities. Laura has a degree in journalism and international relations and is fluent in four languages.