David Good, a Yanomami-American and member of the Irokae-teri community, is a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph researching the gut microbiome of the Yanomami, an Indigenous people of the Amazon. His work examines how their traditional lifestyle sustains one of the world’s most diverse microbiomes, offering insights into health and disease prevention. Born to a Yanomami mother, Good lost access to his ancestral language as a child but later reconnected with his heritage. In 2011, he founded the Yanomami Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing Yanomami communities with tools to protect their way of life and rainforest. His work spans biocultural research, intercultural education, and language preservation. By integrating the Yanomami language into research through AI and digital media, he ensures communities are more informed while preserving the knowledge embedded within it. His latest project, the Yanomami Microbiome Guidebook, will be translated and narrated in Yanomami, fostering both health awareness and language preservation.
Yanomami is part of the Yanomam language family and is spoken by approximately 20,000 Yanomami people in the Amazon rainforest, primarily in southern Venezuela and northwestern Brazil. This language family consists of six languages and is not known to be related to any other. While Yanomami remains the primary means of communication in many communities, efforts to integrate it into digital platforms, audiovisual educational materials for schools, and medical clinics have been limited. There are no formal online dictionaries or structured learning resources, restricting access to both speakers and those interested in studying it. Expanding its presence through multimedia and technology is essential for both linguistic preservation and accessibility.
David’s project integrates language revitalization with scientific education by creating multilingual resources on the Yanomami microbiome and its connection to a lifestyle that remains deeply rooted in ancestral practices, including hunting, foraging, and small-scale swidden horticulture. Over the next year, he will develop a 30-page bilingual guidebook (Yanomami-Spanish; Yanomami-Portuguese) that explains how the Yanomami diet, lifestyle, and relationship with the rainforest contribute to a unique microbiome that protects against chronic diseases. Written from a Yanomami perspective, the guidebook will support communities in making informed health decisions while also addressing the risks posed by industrialization and associated dietary changes. The content will also be adapted into short educational videos in the Yanomami language.