Panama Indians on boat to Maine Voyage puts focus on conservation

NEWPORT, R.I. – A 92-foot ketch built in the Panamanian rain forest arrived at Newport Harbor on Thursday as part of a voyage designed to bring attention to conservation efforts and the plight of the region’s indigenous people.

The crew of the 82-ton, two-masted sailing vessel includes native Chocoe Indians from the village of Mogue in the Darien rain forest of Panama. The ship is on its way to Maine, where the crew plans to meet with representatives of the Penobscot Nation, and possibly the Passamaquoddy Tribe.

“They’re trying to understand how to evolve into self-sufficiency as a culture,” Jim Brunton, founder of the project, said Thursday in a telephone interview with the Bangor Daily News. Brunton had to repeat himself a few times during the call from the boat because the Chocoes were drumming as the vessel neared shore.

“All the Indians are on the bow dancing,” he said.

The $1.4 million Pajaro Jai, which means enchanted bird, was the brainchild of Brunton, a software entrepreneur from Westport, Conn. Katie Brunton said her uncle financed the boat and his Pajaro Jai Foundation through his software business and the sale of 180 acres of oceanfront property in Maine.

“These people just came out of the rain forest from a little village called Mogue,” Brunton said.

“Some of them have never even seen the ocean,” he said.

Snakes, birds and other animals from the Chocoes’ home were carved into the burnished wood interior of the ship, which they built from rain forest lumber in a 15-year project under Brunton’s guidance.

Even the stainless steel turnbuckles and ship’s wheel were bent, welded, ground and polished in the rain forest.

“This boat is merely a tool, and it’s a very powerful tool in focusing public attention on problems of conservation and development, and the way international aid is delivered,” said Vance Bluschke, a crew member and member of the Pajaro Jai Foundation.

The boat is on its first journey up the coast of the United States, with stops in Washington, D.C., New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine.

The Pajaro Jai left Colombia on June 4, motored through the Panama Canal and weathered stormy 10-foot seas near Jamaica kicked up by Tropical Storm Alberto.

“This trip, we have seven indigenous Indians that have left their home, traveled 2,000 miles on the boat through the open ocean and shown incredible courage,” Bluschke said. “And they’re here to deliver a message that this is what can be achieved by people who have absolutely nothing except for determination and character and heart.”

Their goal is to meet with “other indigenous groups,” Bluschke said.

The crew is scheduled to meet today with members of the Wampanoag tribe of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Brunton said.

The Wampanoags are trying to create a document about how to share the land with the town, Brunton explained. He noted that the Pajaro Jai Foundation will be helping and supporting the Wampanoags with their efforts.

“We’re meeting with the [Penobscot] Indians in Bangor, Maine, on the third of August,” Bluschke said. “By getting different indigenous groups together, perhaps you would have a unified voice, and influence how aid is delivered. … More important is aid that fosters self-sufficiency, esteem, real health for the community, rather than a simple handout to build a well.”

BDN writer Aimee Dolloff contributed to this report.