This is Benki.

Benki knew this.

Good night.

Russia, South Africa and Benki's own Brazil, where Benki got his civil rights only in the 1988 constitution.

Benki became the paje of his community.

like Benki and Sanghamitra and Jianchuan.

What?

Benki left the forest for the first time.

If you were to meet Benki and ask him, Why are you doing this?

You know more than Benki knew when he left his forest and went 3,000 miles.

And if we're lucky, we can change the way our great grandchildren will answer Benki's question.

And at that young age, 10 years old, Benki became the paje of his community.

My work has taken me around the world, where I've had the real privilege of meeting people like Benki and many others who are making change happen in their communities people who see the world differently, who are asking different questions, who have different answers, who understand the filters that they wear when they go out into the world.

Benki comes from a village so remote up in the Amazon that to get there, either you have to fly and land on water, or go by canoe for several days.

Today's biggest threat to the Ashaninka people and to Benki comes from illegal logging the people who come into the beautiful forest and cut down ancient mahogany trees, float them down the river to world markets.

Benki came back to his village full of ideas new technologies, new research, new ways of understanding what was going on.

Eight years later, when he was a young man of 18, Benki left the forest for the first time.

I met Benki three years ago in Sao Paulo when I'd brought him and other leaders from indigenous peoples to meet with me and leaders from around the world, because we wanted to learn from each other.

And in addition to that, we know that five other really big countries are going to have a say in the future, a say we haven't even really started to hear yet China, India, Russia, South Africa and Benki's own Brazil, where Benki got his civil rights only in the 1988 constitution.

It's a future we don't know the details of, but it's a future that has signs, just like Benki saw the signs around him.

But the good news is that we don't have to figure it out as we go along we have models, we have examples, like Benki and Sanghamitra and Jianchuan.

Benki comes from a village so remote up in the Amazon that to get there, either you have to fly and land on water, or go by canoe for several days.

I met Benki three years ago in Sao Paulo when I'd brought him and other leaders from indigenous peoples to meet with me and leaders from around the world, because we wanted to learn from each other.

Today's biggest threat to the Ashaninka people and to Benki comes from illegal logging the people who come into the beautiful forest and cut down ancient mahogany trees, float them down the river to world markets.

My work has taken me around the world, where I've had the real privilege of meeting people like Benki and many others who are making change happen in their communities people who see the world differently, who are asking different questions, who have different answers, who understand the filters that they wear when they go out into the world.