Environmental Activist, Indigenous Rights Advocate, and Model
Zaya Ribeiro: Biography at a Glance
- Zaya is an environmental activist and model born and raised in an indigenous community in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.
- She was discovered by Dayana Molina, a renowned indigenous rights advocate and stylist, who helped her enter the global fashion industry as both an activist and a model.
- Together, Zaya and Molina created the first collective dedicated to indigenous representation in the fashion industry and beyond.
- Zaya is a member of the Advisory Board for Slow Factory, a climate innovation hub addressing the intersecting crises of environmental justice and social inequity.
- She has been spreading her message about indigenous representation through by speaking at conferences and international institutions and to political leaders, decision-makers, journalists, and the general public around the globe.
Biography
Zaya was born and raised in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, in an indigenous community living in the Brazilian part of the jungle. She comes from a lineage of strong women leaders, both shamans and caciques (spiritual guides). Her ancestors belonged to the powerful Guajajara, Kamorapi and Guarani Mbya ethnicity, an extremely rare combination in terms of indigenous ethnicity.
At 15, she was lucky to be sent to Rio de Janeiro where she studied at the German College, infusing her traditional ancestral upbringing with a more western-like education.
Spotted by renowned indigenous rights advocate, stylist, and Brazilian Harper Bazaar Columnist Dayana Molina, she fell into the cauldron of Global Fashion both as an activist and a model. Together, they created the first collective dedicated to indigenous representation in the fashion world and beyond. She has been carrying this important message in articles, conferences, international institutions, and to political leaders, decision-makers, journalists, and the general public around the globe.
